Riders and teams – Fabio Quartararo delighted with his discovery of MotoGP on the Yamaha – Used YAMAHA

Posted on by admin

Fabio Quartararo delighted with his discovery of MotoGP on the Yamaha

Riders and teams - Fabio Quartararo delighted with his discovery of MotoGP on the Yamaha - Used YAMAHA

Fabio Quartararo approaches his first MotoGP winter break with satisfaction after quickly making his mark on the Petronas SRT Yamaha M1. The young driver from Nice is motivated and positive about his arrival among the elite of the Grands Prix.

If the Moto3 and Moto2 categories unfortunately do not have any French in 2019, MotoGP however has two French tricolors: Johann Zarco, who goes from Yamaha to KTM for his third year in the premier category, and the beginner Fabio Quartararo, engaged in the new Petronas SRT team (for "Sepang Racing Team") which replaces Tech3 as Yamaha satellite structure. 

  • MNC Interview:
  • MNC file : 

At only 19 years old, the Nice player joined the elite after four seasons in the lower categories: two in Moto3 (10th overall in 2015 and 13th in 2016) and two in Moto2 (13th in 2017 and 10th in 2018). Years of learning sawtooth and sometimes frustrating for "El Diablo", which nourished hopes of titles during our …

"My goal is to be Moto3 world champion. Then I will focus on obtaining the title in Moto2, then in MotoGP", then planned with ambition the n ° 20 – who had just crushed at the time the Spanish championship – when the Motorcycle Journal of the Net .

His trajectory finally passed far enough from that hoped for for various reasons, among others related to his entourage and the pressure on his shoulders: perceived as the possible future Marc Marquez, Fabio had a mission that was probably too heavy to accomplish. But he gave himself the means to erase doubts to clinch his first Grand Prix victory last year at the Catalan GP !

"We signed the contract in Germany"

Again on the podium the following race in the Netherlands (the 4th in his career), the n ° 20 did not leave the Top 10 and climbed twice to the fifth position, in Thailand then in Malaysia. So many solid performances that have not escaped Yamaha and its new satellite team Petronas SRT, which has decided to make it climb in MotoGP for 2019.

 Riders and teams - Fabio Quartararo delighted with his discovery of MotoGP on the Yamaha - Used YAMAHA

"The first time I raised this subject with my manager, it was the Monday just after Assen (where he had just finished 2nd, Editor’s note): he just told me that there was a possibility of doing climb in MotoGP, ”Fabio remembers. "And then the project progressed to the point of becoming a reality in Germany. That’s when we signed the contract.".

The project of this new Yamaha Petronas SRT team – also engaged in Moto2 and MotoE – revolves around two promising young riders: Fabio and Franco Morbidelli, who passes with relief from the Honda RC213V to an M1 considered much more obvious by the Moto2 world champion 2017.

By virtue of his status as a "Rookie", the Frenchman inherits a less advanced bike than that of Morbidelli, who concluded his first year in MotoGP in 15th place within the Marc VDS team. Yamaha evokes a "B" configuration for Fabio and "A" for Franco: in short, Morbidelli’s bike is closer to those of Rossi and Viñales and will benefit from more developments.

 Riders and teams - Fabio Quartararo delighted with his discovery of MotoGP on the Yamaha - Used YAMAHA

"Honestly, I did not think I would have such a good opportunity to step up in MotoGP this season," said Fabio Quartararo, who for the moment does not attach any importance to these differences. "But after making a first contact, I knew that this team would do everything possible to become a better satellite team, by surrounding itself with ultra-professional people, all in a positive atmosphere".

"Even in sixth grade, I was going on a wheelie!"

His first laps on the M1 took place in Valencia (Spain), during the traditional first offseason tests organized in the wake of the final. A first positive contact since Fabio took the leader’s 16th fastest time at 1.334 seconds, while he was discovering Michelin tires, carbon discs and the incredible power of a MotoGP (around 270 hp) !

 Riders and teams - Fabio Quartararo delighted with his discovery of MotoGP on the Yamaha - Used YAMAHA

"It was quite strange," he recalls. "I was a little anxious, frankly I was not very comfortable. On re-acceleration, I really felt the power delivered by this bike, it was just… spectacular. Even in sixth, I started in wheelie. I’ve never had so much fun in a straight line! ".

"Although I was expecting it, I was really surprised by the power, which is even more from low revs," admits the No. 20. “You go up to 300 km / h very easily, but I’m getting used to it little by little. In fact, I think the biggest difference comes from the carbon brakes. We slow down much harder, while the braking points are almost the same".

Braking and entering a curve are the two points on which Fabio Quartararo quickly saw the importance of improving, without however upsetting his driving habits. Good news for the Frenchman, who then finished 12th 0.816sec behind the leader in his second practice session in Jerez (Spain) !

"We analyzed my riding with my technical team and contrary to what I thought, I do not need to change it as much", explains Fabio, who proved this "quick setting in the saddle" by completing the last day of testing in Jerez in the wake of Valentino Rossi (11th 0.654 sec behind the leader). "Having said that, I know I have to be faster when entering a corner, but it will be done little by little".

It is now time for a well-deserved rest until the next official tests scheduled for February in Sepang (Malaysia), during which Fabio Quartararo hopes to continue to progress step by step to get closer to the outposts.

Related articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *