Marco Bezzecchi
Fabio Quartararo won his one and only MotoGP world championship to date back in 2021. It was only his third year in the premier class, and his first with the Yamaha factory squad.
Quartararo had two races to spare when he sealed the title in Emilia Romagna, with fourth place good enough after his only challenger Francesco Bagnaia retired. He was a true model of consistency.
He maintained a 100% record of finishing in the points until the penultimate round of the season in Portugal, by which point he was already champion. Better still, he was sixth or better in 13 of the first 16 races.
Quartararo scored a total of five race wins and 10 podiums, eventually finishing 26 points clear. He became France’s first-ever MotoGP champion.
Bagnaia exacted his revenge the following year by pipping El Diablo, who hasn’t been able to compete since. He dropped to 10th in the championship in 2023 and 13th last year as Yamaha regressed.
While Yamaha can’t think about challenging Ducati just yet, they can be optimistic of an improvement. They will finally align with their competitors by introducing a V4 engine, and they’ll also be strengthened by their deal with Pramac.
Fabio Quartararo had to be reminded that he’d be a world champion ‘for life’
Yamaha communications chief Maider Barthe spoke to Motosprint about what it’s like to work with Quartararo. She sought out a sports psychologist to help him control his emotions.
In particular, he had to keep a lid on his ‘frustration’ when he found that the bike wasn’t ‘responding’. He even told Barthe to remove a number one sticker from the back of her laptop.
His colleague had applied the sticker to mark Quartararo’s 2021 triumph, but he didn’t want to live in the past. In response, Barthe warned him that he should ‘never forget’ his achievement.
“I also went to a sports psychologist to help him manage his emotions: the frustration of a young rider with enormous talent who found himself in a moment when the bike wasn’t responding,” she said.
“On my computer, I always have the number one sticker and especially in 2022 Fabio told me to take it off. I replied that he was a world champion and would be for life. I told him to never forget what he had managed to do.”
The biggest problem with Fabio Quartararo’s riding style at Yamaha
Quartararo is set to lead Yamaha’s charge once again this season. He maximised the bike’s potential last year, even if he wasn’t able to fight for the results his talent deserves.
Alex Rins says he can’t match Quartararo because he isn’t comfortable with his set-up. The bike is tailored with the Frenchman, who’s been the franchise rider long-term.
Pramac will receive factory-spec bikes, but there are doubts over Jack Miller, who’s only signed a one-year contract. Miguel Oliveira wasn’t particularly impressive last year either, though he did miss five races through injury.
Quartararo must avoid pushing too hard, though, in an attempt to counter the bike’s limitations. Yamaha technical director Max Bartolini admits that’s ‘one of the most difficult’ problems an elite rider faces when stuck in the midfield.
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