MotoGP | Quartararo: “Marc's farewell to Honda woke up Yamaha”

Fabio Quartararo renewed with Yamaha unexpectedly and very early in the season, long before the Japanese brand started to show a major step forward in development. This has led to much speculation about the real reasons for this maneuver.

The Frenchman renews his trust in Iwata and thinks that they will be able to make the M1 competitive again, but there are many who believe that the significant financial offer to renew has surpassed any other option, something to which Fabio himself gives importance, ” let's not kid ourselves,” he says.

After announcing the renewal, Quartararo flew to Austin and there he had a conversation with Canal +, the television that holds the rights to MotoGP in France: “It's a moment that many people have been waiting for. My choice was to stay in Yamaha, not by default, but for the project.”

There, El Diablo explained that Marc Marquez's farewell to Honda opened Yamaha's eyes: “I think Marquez's move from Honda to Ducati woke up a lot of people at Yamaha. They have brought in a lot of new engineers and there is a lot going on in Italy (the team's home) and not in Japan. The speed with which parts can be changed has completely transformed. I think it was very interesting for me to continue with Yamaha.”

“Obviously, I completely understand that people have doubts about my choice, also because a few months ago I myself was really ready to go to another team,” he admitted referring to Aprilia's offer, after acknowledging that he had had some contacts.

“I won't say much, but Yamaha is investing considerable sums to get a better bike. I think it is one of the only brands that invest so much in this project. We will see improvements already this year, I think this season will be very difficult, even just to get podiums. But I think the work we do now will be very important for the next two years,” he continues.

What escapes no one is the fact that Quartararo, in the two-year period 2025-2026, will become the highest paid rider on the starting grid, with a total of 25 million euros. Hence the economic factor also had value when making the decision.

“Let's not kid ourselves, I think I have value as a rider and Yamaha knows this very well. For me it is an honor that a brand like Yamaha invests in me. I have been with them for several years. The main reason, of course, is the plan for the next few years. In economic terms, I think this had a minimal impact on what was factored into this contract,” he says.

“Honestly, I have an ego too, I have pride. With Yamaha we won the title and, in the last two years, we have hit rock bottom. I'll tell you this too. I want to return to the top with the brand that gave me the opportunity to change my career, with the brand that changed my life, concludes the Nice native.

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