Ex-MotoGP World Champion Fabio Quartararo talks about his future with Yamaha and explains what role the Misano test in September will play
Fabio Quartararo is experiencing arguably the most difficult season since his promotion to MotoGP four and a half years ago. Currently, the Yamaha factory rider is only eleventh in the World Championship. Wins or podiums are difficult for Quartararo to achieve on his own this year. In the first nine Grand Prix weekends of the current season, the ex-champion managed to finish in the top 3 in a sprint and in a main race.
The lack of success is undoubtedly due to the Yamaha M1’s lack of competitiveness. Yamaha race director Lin Jarvis described the first half of the 2023 season as a disappointment, noting that the M1 no longer has any strength compared to the competition.
Quartararo is still contractually bound to Yamaha until the end of 2024. Whether the Frenchman will continue to race for the Iwata-based manufacturer beyond that date could already be decided at the upcoming MotoGP test in Misano, where the 2024 prototype will be used. Quartararo wants to see action in the development of the Yamaha MotoGP bike.
Fabio Quartararo wants to see action from Yamaha at last
“At the Misano test I want the proof. They have one month. Yamaha made promises to me three years ago in a 10-page PDF document where nine and a half pages are still open. “
“I don’t want to see anything in writing. I want to see the Misano bike because that will be 95 per cent the bike I will be riding in 2024. “Then we will see if Yamaha really want me in the future,” Quartararo becomes very clear.
“Yamaha is my priority because it is the brand that brought me to MotoGP. I trust Yamaha and give them this chance. But there won’t be a second chance,” clarifies the 2021 MotoGP champion.
Can Yamaha fulfil the wishes of the ex-champion?
In June, Quartararo parted ways with Eric Mahe, his long-time manager. The former MotoGP World Champion founded FQ20, a management company that takes care of contracts and image rights. This company will take care of the future with or without Yamaha.
“I feel freer now,” Quartararo commented on the management change. “There are people of mine taking care of the contracts and the legal things. I know what I want. I don’t want to waste time. It’s very important to see what Yamaha is doing for next year. “
At the recent Grand Prix at Silverstone, it was announced that Yamaha will fill the second place in the factory team from the 2024 season. Alex Rins will succeed Franco Morbidelli. But Rins’ contract also ends in December 2024, because the Spaniard only signed a one-year contract. Thus, as things stand, Yamaha faces an uncertain future as far as the rider pairing from 2025 is concerned.
