Quartararo extends contract with Yamaha in MotoGP
On the eve of the Catalunya MotoGP round this past June, Yamaha announced they had come to an agreement with Fabio Quartararo that will see the 23-year-old Frenchman remain with the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP factory team for the next two years.
According to Yamaha, Quartararo has shown great skill, camaraderie and consistency in his time with the factory team, which culminated in last year’s MotoGP World Championship. In his title defence this year, Quartararo had taken a win in Portugal and podiums at the Indonesian, Spanish and Italian rounds before signing the new deal. Since then, Quartararo has won at Catalunya and the Sachsenring, and despite a DNF at the Dutch TT, was leading the championship by 21 points at the mid-season break.
“We are very happy to have reached an agreement with Fabio to continue with the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team for 2023 and beyond,” said Lin Jarvis, Managing Director of Yamaha Motor Racing, following the 2 June announcement.
“We brought Fabio into the factory team last year knowing he is a special talent, but he exceeded even our expectations. One doesn’t often come across a rider of his calibre. He was already showing his talent and speed in his two years with the SRT satellite team in 2019 and 2020. When he made the step up to the factory team, we could really see him growing stronger and maturing as a rider.
“With Fabio, we know he will always put in 100% of his best effort, and we have assured him that Yamaha will do the same and we will invest in future developments so that together we can challenge for MotoGP World Championship titles for years to come.”
Quartararo’s response was a little more muted, suggesting he may have been looking elsewhere, and possibly even receiving offers from other teams, before committing to Yamaha for the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
“Yamaha believed in me from the very beginning, and that is something I do not take lightly. But that being said, this new agreement was a big decision. I'm at a great point in my career, so I took a bit more time taking this decision,” the Frenchman said.
“I believe in the Yamaha MotoGP project, and I feel Yamaha are truly motivated. And now that we have officially confirmed our decision to continue on this path together, we can fully focus on the current season.
“I want to say ‘Thanks!’ to the people around me, who always help me and support me, as well as to the fans who are cheering me on. I really do appreciate all the support.”