Quartararo will sing La Marseillaise on Sunday at the GP of Aragon, 20 years after that of Laconi ?
This week marks a very special anniversary for motorcycle Grand Prix fans: the 20th anniversary of the last victory of a French rider in the premier class, signed by Regis Laconi in 1999… Fabio Quartararo – born the same year! – can he also sing La Marseillaise on Sunday at the GP of Aragon? MNC believes in it !
All our readers may not remember it, but the last French driver to win in the premier class is Regis Laconi, winner of the Valencia Grand Prix in 1999 on his Yamaha YZR500 ahead of Kenny Roberts Junior’s Suzuki and Gary McCoy’s Yamaha…
- MNC of February 25, 2010 :
- MNC special file :
- MNC special file :
The day before, the n ° 55 had already won his first pole position in the Grands Prix ahead of Max Biaggi and Alex Criville: sorry! Then on the starting grid, the driver from Meuse made the daring bet of slick tires on his nervous 500 cc 2-stroke, while the stormy rain that fell that very morning still made the asphalt shine on the brand new Ricardo Tormo circuit….
Good pick: Regis Laconi takes control from the second corner and escapes on a drying track to clinch his first – and only – success in Grand Prix, all categories combined! The Frenchman confirms two weeks later with a third place in Australia, but he will subsequently fail to return to pole and the podium in GP.
It was 20 years ago, to the day, Sunday September 19, 1999 … At the time, a certain Fabio Quartararo pushed his first "tweets" in the region of Nice (06): the future crack of the Vitesse moto – born April 20, 1999 – was just five months old as La Marseillaise sounded on the Valence circuit !
At 20, Quartararo can end 20 years of famine !
As the (Spain), 14th MotoGP 2019 race looms this weekend, the question inevitably arises: will Fabio end these two decades without a French victory at the highest level? Will he be the fourth French winner in the premier category, after Regis Laconi in 1999, Christian Sarron in 1985 and Pierre Monneret in … 1954 ?
Fabio Quartararo has in any case the speed and the control necessary to make us vibrate (scream, cry, dream!) 20 years later: has not the Nice debutant just finished second behind Marc Marquez in the, after having led almost entire race and gave the five-time MotoGP world champion a hard time ?
- GP of San Marino :
- MNC of September 17, 2019:
"Having fought against Marc in Misano gives me a lot of confidence ahead of this event in Aragon," admits Yamaha rider Petronas-SRT, currently 7th in the provisional and first private. "It shows that we did a good job (…), I feel ready to get back on my bike".
This performance at Misano, which should consolidate his access to one, also earned him the recognition of "maestro" Marquez: "Fabio has the potential, the talent, the bike and the team to fight for the championship next year", considers the domineering title holder. Who better than the official Honda to detect his possible successor ?!
The winner is the fastest … but not only !
However, nothing can be taken for granted in MotoGP, where success requires a perfect interweaving of a colossal sum of "small" details: all the conditions – technical and human – must be met to reach the top, otherwise we risk of exhausting oneself in vain on the wrong slope…
Fabio knows something about it, having been named as favorite too early on his arrival in Grands Prix. Be careful not to get carried away too quickly, both on the side of the driver and his entourage and his many fans: his results are already simply exceptional for his first season among the elite. !
- MNC Interview : Meeting with Fabio Quartararo, Moto3 rider in 2015
The young talent from France can also remember the experience of his compatriot Johann Zarco to keep a cautious approach: the Cannes native was also tipped to win the cup in MotoGP, also on a private Yamaha, even offering himself a splendid pole position in front of his public at the French GP 2018…
- MNC Premium : Zarco / KTM rupture, the underside of a (dis) lose-lose deal
- French GP 2018 : Zarco (abandonment): I should have waited longer
The n ° 5 – today on foot after his break with KTM – was unfortunately by haste while he occupied the second place … Although Johann has always defended himself, this fall at home will weigh heavily and it will be necessary wait eleven races to see him again on the podium (3rd at the Malaysian GP, his last to date).
Marquez undefeated in Aragon since 2016
Another parameter to take into consideration: Marc Marquez, of course! The official Honda rider will undoubtedly be at the rendezvous at MotorLand in Aragon, with his many strengths: his speed and phenomenal angles, his experience in race management and … his 93 points ahead of Dovizioso !
The native of Cervera (Spain) is heading full throttle towards his 8th world title (the sixth in MotoGP) and can afford to take risks, as he proved last Sunday in Misano by pushing his limits – and those of Fabio! – to snatch a victory more important for his ego than for the championship.
Beating n ° 93 in front of his team will be all the more difficult for Fabio Quartararo as Marc Marquez is proving formidable with his three successive victories since 2016! Finally, the last pitfall to be overcome by "El Diablo": the straight 968 m of the Aragon route…
This long distance throttle in full does not really serve the interests of his Yamaha satellite, whose 4-cylinder takes 500 rpm less than those of Rossi, Viñales and Morbidelli. For the record, Andrea Iannone reached a speed of 345.8 km / h in 2015 on the official Ducati !
"It’s not that much of a problem for us," Fabio assures us with confidence. "Proof of that: we have shown that we can fight at the Red Bull Ring and at Misano, as long as we have a good start and five solid laps".
"The goal will be first of all to be on the front row again, because we need to have a good start and then we will try to do as much as possible as always," he predicts with determination, but also humility. Fabio has his nose in the bubble … but his feet on the ground !
- MNC of June 11, 2019 : Le Journal Moto du Net celebrates its 20th anniversary !
- GP of Aragon :
Let’s hope that all his qualities will do wonders again on Sunday in Aragon, to finally hear the chords of La Marseillaise in MotoGP … Fabio is 20 years old, and we’ve been waiting for 20 years: all the planets are aligned, no ?!
Bonus: the continuation of the Regis Laconi trajectory
MNC could not finish this article without devoting a few more lines to the pilot behind this "anniversary": Regis Laconi! After its historic victory in Valence in 1999, the Meusien did not shine particularly the following year on the Yamaha Red Bull (12th)…
The sympathetic n ° 55 migrated in 2001 to the World Superbike after six seasons in the Continental Circus (two in 250 cc and four in 500 cc) and immediately won in Imola (Italy)! Back to Grand Prix with the Aprilia RS-Cube in 2002, but its lack of tuning encouraged it to go back to WSBK! He will sign a total of 28 podiums – including 11 victories – and will come close to the title in 2004.
Regis Laconi – 44 years since July 8 – withdrew from the circuits in 2010, a year after his terrible fall in Kyalami (South Africa) which almost cost him his life: "due to a previous accident, j I now have three cervical vertebrae welded out of seven ", then specified the Meusien, also victim of a major cranial trauma at the origin of memory loss.
Now a trainer during internships, Regis Laconi has retained a strong popularity rating in the motorcycle world and with his fans. The least of things for this "whole" driver, moreover the only French winner in the premier class and in the WSBK !
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