The eve of a potential MotoGP title decider wasn't the ideal time for world championship leader Fabio Quar🔯tararཧo to suffer his worst qualifying in the premier-class.

The Mons🐷ter Yamaha star had only been off the front-row once this season, a fifth place in Qatar, but will line-up just 15th in Sunday'꧃s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

However Saturday in Misano was no ordinary day. Cold but steadily drying conditions after a wet morning, created qualifying conditions that Quartararo (and his M1) 'hateಞs'.

With a 52-point title ಌlead over Francesco Bagnaia to protect, he alsoꩲ admitted to be subconsciously cautious with some of the wet patches, which probably cost him the chance to join the Ducati rider in advancing through Qualifying 1.

"In FP3, I tried everything to be in Q2 straight away, and we finished not so far away, So w🙈e made a massive improvement in the full wet. But this afternoon was dry conditions with wet patches on ඣslicks. Exactly what I hate," Quartararo said.

"I didn't take enough risk in the last two secto♊rs. It's something that I can underst🍸and [because of the title situation], even if it is on an unconscious side of my thinking.

"If you look at my Sector 1, I'm the second fastest of Q2, even if I was not there. The only sectors where I lose a lot were the last two, where the wet patch🎐es were.

"So I'm not so worried about tomorrow [when it should be dry]. Of course it's not the best pos🌊ition, I need to make a great start, try to make great ov⛄ertakes, and we will see what will happen in the race."

Quartararo w𝓀as originally classified 15th in qualifying after his best time was removed due to a yellow flag. That lap wa♓s then reinstated, moving him to 13th… and then removed again!

"I have no idea if it's🐭 P13, P15," he admitted. "But P13 o🦩r P15 is the same, so anyway, the position now is done, and that's it."

With Bagnaia, winner of la꧑st month's Misano round, qualifying on pole position, Quartararo faces an uphill task to maintain the 50-point title lead he needs to be crowned world champion on Sunday.

"Of course, for me it's a tough situation," he said. "To be honest, I have not thought about the championship, because he is P1 and I'✅m P13 or🌜 P15.

"But he has the🍎 pressure, it's not only me. He has the pressure to do well, and maybe he will make a mistake. I don't wish him that, but it's something that we will see.

"But my feeling is that if everything is normal, we will fight [to decided the title𝄹 next time] in Portimao."

Thಌe Fren🧜chman added that he doesn't want to be informed of Bagnaia's position during Sunday's race.

"It's something that will just put more pressure, I think," he said. "My strategy is to push from the beginning. I need to recover the ꦆmost points as possible, and thꦫen we will see what happens.

"I think that our potential in the full dry is good, we will see with which tyre, but I think that it can be a great rac🌃e tomorrow. Different for sure, becaus﷽e it's the first time that I'm out of the top 12 in qualifying, so we will see."

Quartararo finished a close second⛎ to Bagnaia in the previous Misano race, dramatically closing in on the Ducati rider in the final laps.