Fabio Quartararo remembers the question he was asked by ’15 Italian journalists’ after replacing Valentino Rossi

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In hindsight, Fabio Quartararo’s move to the factory Yamaha team in 2021 worked out pretty well for the Frenchman after he secured his maiden MotoGP championship in his debut season with the Japanese constructor.

However, it wasn’t a case of hitting the ground running for Quartararo.

He faced significant pressure from the press at the time due to the fact that he was replacing one of the best riders to ever race in the premier class of Grand Prix motorcycle racing at Yamaha.

Quartararo revealed that he never wanted to replace Valentino Rossi, adding that he was so nervous in his first race for the team that he wasn’t thinking clearly about things like tyres and engine maps.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Fabio Quartararo from net worth to career stats

Fabio Quartararo was asked how he would emulate the success of Valentino Rossi after taking his seat at Yamaha in 2021

In an interview with the YouTube channel TwoJeys, Quartararo recalled the period in time after he was announced as a factory Yamaha rider for the 2021 season, where the Italian press were all asking him the same question regarding the success he would bring to the team.

“My idol has always been Rossi,” Quartararo started. “I have competed with Rossi, and I won the title the year he retired. I had many things related to my idol from when I was little.

“From 2020 to 2021, we switched places; I took his place, and he mine. Of course, it’s also pressure because you take out the King from the factory team, and you have 15 Italian journalists, saying, ‘How are you going to do it?’, because you have taken the number one’s place, the King’s.

El Diablo isn’t the only rider to have felt the wrath of those loyal to Rossi during the latter’s MotoGP career. Casey Stoner once recalled Rossi’s hold on the media, noting how he had them ‘wrapped around his finger’ during their tight title fights in the late 2000s/early 2010s.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Valentino Rossi from stats to net worth

Fabio Quartararo recalls being ‘nervous’ upon meeting Valentino Rossi for the first time

Quartararo had a swathe of plaudits for Rossi in the interview, stating that Rossi has been the main source of inspiration for the rider since he was a young boy. Being able to take The Doctor’s spot at Yamaha ended up being a dream come true for the Frenchman.

“Dreams do come true, it’s true,” Quartararo continued. “Because as a kid, I never really imagined taking Valentino’s place in the team, swapping helmets with him, and other little things that stay with you as memories.

“I’ve had more people over the years who inspire me, but since I was five years old, Rossi was the only one I looked up to.

“It was really strange to meet him. First, it was just taking a photo, all nervous, then it went in stages. I really got to know him when I was 14 or 15 and he invited me to his ranch.”

As with many drivers on the Grand Prix motorcycle racing scene nowadays, Rossi’s influence on them is insurmountable. Francesco Bagnaia has ‘copied’ one move of Rossi’s, which everyone is seemingly doing in the modern era of MotoGP, the ‘Doctor’s Dangle’.