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Following a breakout performance at Jerez two weeks ago, Frenchman Fabio Quartararo is hopeful of maintaining his newfound form as the MotoGP World Championship heads to Le Mans in France this weekend.

The Petronas Yamaha SRT rookie earned his maiden pole position at the Spanish round and was in podium contention until he was struck with a mechanical failure in the closing stages.

Acknowledging there will be added pressure this weekend, the youthful contender is excited to race in front of a home crowd for the very first time in the premier class.

“We can only draw positive conclusions from the Spanish GP,” said Quartararo. “We took pole position, we were fighting for the podium and on Monday we were the fastest at the test whilst we were trying out many things for the coming races. It’s good to go to Le Mans after a great weekend like we had at Jerez.

“There will be a lot of fans at the French GP and that will give me extra motivation. It also generates more stress and pressure as it’s my home grand prix, but in the end it’s good to have a race where the fans are all behind me.

“I think the Yamaha YZR-M1 will be well suited to Le Mans, because in recent years Yamaha have done well there. I believe we can get a good result. We will do our best and work in the same way as we did at Jerez. I’m looking forward to the race.”

Quartararo is positioned 13th in the championship rankings following the first four rounds of the 19-stop tour.