Quartararo re-signs with Yamaha

Fabio Quartararo will remain with the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team for at least another two seasons after signing a contract extension. Ending speculation around his move to another manufacturer, namely Aprilia, Quartararo re-signed with Yamaha on 5 April. The new deal will take the Frenchman’s time with Yamaha in the premier class to eight seasons and with the factory team to six seasons.

In an official statement released by Yamaha, Quartararo said he was happy to continue with both the team and the YZR-M1, citing positives that came out of the winter break.

"Last winter, Yamaha proved to me that they have a new approach and a new aggressive mindset. My confidence is high: we will be back at the front together!

"Six years ago, [Yamaha] gave me the chance to step up to MotoGP, and since then we have achieved great things together. We still have a long way ahead of us to start fighting for victory again. I will work hard, and I am sure that, together, we will achieve our dream once more!"

Going further in the pre-race press conference at the Grand Prix of the Americas, Quartararo said the decision to remain with Yamaha was not an easy one, given the YZR-M1’s struggles against Aprilia, Ducati and KTM in the past season. The Frenchman, who turned 25 on 20 April, also admitted that he had talked to other manufacturers, but said that a “great meeting” with top Yamaha engineers at the Portuguese GP convinced him to stay.

Without going into specifics, Quartararo said Yamaha revealed confidential details of their MotoGP project for the remainder of this season, as well as 2025 and 2026, including some “really interesting things” and new people that will be joining the team. This, according to the 2021 MotoGP World Champion, will make the future of Yamaha’s MotoGP project “huge”.

Lin Jarvis, the Managing Director at Yamaha Motor Racing who’s retiring at the end of this season, said he’s very pleased that Quartararo will remain with the factory, as he is integral to Yamaha's MotoGP project.

"Yamaha Motor Company, Yamaha Motor Racing and the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team are sparing no effort to ensure a bright future with Fabio by taking a more 'aggressive approach' to bike development,” Jarvis said. “We have already made significant changes to our organisation, including a new internal management system, recruitment of top expertise within the industry, new external technical partnerships, an increased development budget and intensified testing programme.

“All these changes are designed to speed up the process for us to return to winning ways. Fabio has understood this commitment and this has given him the confidence to make his decision to stay with us for the coming years.

What wasn’t revealed in the 5 April announcement was Quartararo’s fee to remain with Yamaha, but outside sources have rumoured it to be as much as 12 million Euros (AU$19.6 million approx.) for the two years, while Aprilia’s offer is alleged to have been “only” 4 million Euros (AU$6.5 million approx.). If accurate, this would make Quartararo the highest paid rider on the MotoGP grid.

Despite Quartararo’s confidence about what Yamaha have in store, critics have stated that the former world champion’s decision to remain with the Iwata factory will come at the price of on-track success. At time of writing, the Frenchman hasn’t won a GP since 2022 at the Sachsenring and last visited the podium at the 2023 Indonesian round. After finishing second in the championship in 2022, Quartararo slumped to tenth last year – his worst placing since joining the premier class in 2019.

In the opening three races of the 2024 MotoGP season, Quartararo’s best finish has been seventh.