From playing for the World Cup right down to the last minute to finishing only 10th, what’s more without even a single victory, it seems like a very long step. Yet Fabio Quartararo experienced it first hand and also in a rather short period of time. The Yamaha rider was world champion in 2021, but in the second part of 2022 he already began to sense the nightmare into which he was about to sink, having to deal with a Ducati that allowed Pecco Bagnaia to recover the 91 points points margin that he had accumulated in the first part of the season.
In 2023, an unbeatable Red was counterbalanced by an M1 which instead took a bit of a shrimp step, becoming a bike that was able to battle for the podium on very rare occasions and which never had a real chance to even entertain the idea of victory. A situation which was absolutely not easy to live with, which “El Diablo” recounted in an interview granted to Motorsport.com, also speaking about his hopes for the future, which he will have to decide in the first part of next year, given that then his contract with the Iwata manufacturer will expire.
Last year you fought for the championship, but from the beginning it looked like you couldn’t win in 2023. At what point did you realize this?
“Honestly, since the first race. Even last year I didn’t expect to fight, but obviously as a driver the expectations are very high, you must never give up in any situation. And the first part of the season, up to the middle, was tough because I never expected the situation I was in, because clearly finishing in P10, P17, even P7, I was always frustrated at times and never happy with my positions. Sometimes my driving was really good, but clearly that was the potential we had. So, this was something we had to accept. But the second half of the season went much better, giving my 100% and that’s it. But as a driver it was really tough for me, especially the first half of the season.” .
At Misano you said you felt too arrogant in your comments on Yamaha’s performance. What made you change mentally to realize this and start accepting your situation?
“Yes, as I said I was arrogant… Not in a negative sense, but to improve. Of course, as I said, I never accepted being in that position, I wanted to push Yamaha to the limit. So, the way I was doing it wasn’t the right one. But I always want to be at the top, to be number one, and then, also from my experience of being in that position, to just do my best. There are no expectations for every single race. Of course , trying to be in Q2 on Friday is the main goal of the weekend, without thinking about P6 in Sunday’s race. Being in Q2 on Friday is the main goal of every single weekend. But it’s difficult to accept that and even now, despite being improved, I never accepted this feeling. Even in Mandalika, when I was the fastest and couldn’t overtake, I finished third. Of course, I didn’t get on the podium for a long time. But I never accepted this position.”
Is it a good feeling to not accept the situation you’re in?
“Yes. The motivation I have to come back… You know, when you’ve never been in the top places, you never know what it’s like. So, if you’ve always been in P5, P6 and you end up in P7, P8, more or less you can accept it. But when you savor, for the last four years, fighting for victory and podium every single weekend and now you end up in such a low position, the only thing you want is to get back to victory. I’m hungry for victories and that’s always good. I think it will be a great return because I’ll be back there where I belong.”
Last year you managed to counter Pecco and Ducati. Nobody managed to do it in 2023. So, does this give you more confidence that once you get the bike you need, you can make the difference to be back in the fight?
“To be honest, it was clear from 2021, the year I won the title, that the bike was worse, it wasn’t at the same level. But we still had some positives and negatives. Last year for me, even if I finished second, it was the best year because the bike was clearly worse. But now the difference is too big and I can’t make the difference. So, yes, we have to analyze everything well, where we have to improve and it will be a big challenge for Yamaha for 2024”.
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing
Crutchlow (the test rider) said in Japan that the bike needs better acceleration, rather than top speed. Do you agree with this statement? Where does the big improvement have to come?
“In the end, for me, top speed is important because if you don’t have the power you can’t use more aerodynamics. So, it’s something very important, but then the turning that we had in the past is no longer there. So, it’s something we need to recover. The one for the 2019 bike was crazy and helped me a lot. But we lost a lot of things and gained few. It’s not normal that after four years we check the lap time in Thailand or on other tracks, and my lap time was exactly the same as four years ago, but feeling much more on the limit and being a better driver than four years ago. And now we also have more power than 2019. So, we have to find a way to maintain the positive aspects and always improving, because now we always take one step forward and one step back. And we never manage to maintain the positive aspects that we get. We always lose them in one way or another.”
We know the problems the Japanese manufacturers had. But did you feel a push within Yamaha to try to work differently and try new things?
“As you know, the Misano test was very important for me, also to keep calm. Of course, it wasn’t a great test for us. So, the two tests in Valencia and Sepang will be really important for my future and above all I want to get back on the podium regularly, to be able to fight for the podium every single week. Being in this position, I can’t expect to win every weekend, but fighting for the podium more often would be fantastic, because we are too far away to think I can say ‘ ok, next year we will fight for the championship.’ Of course, that is my goal, but being realistic we have to think step by step and being able to fight for some victories and a lot more podiums next year is really important and would mean that the Yamaha did a great job.”
It’s important for you to be able to win again with Yamaha. Do you want this relationship to go beyond 2024 or, like Marquez, are you only focused on winning?
“Of course, as a rider, Yamaha gave me the opportunity to be in MotoGP. I gave them a title. The relationship is good. As a rider, I would like to win again with Yamaha. We have had some ups and downs and I I would like to go back to the top. But the fact is that we have a very, very short time to do it, especially to convince myself that this is a winning project. Of course, if I feel that I don’t have a winning project and I have to leave, of course I will have to do that step. But I see that Yamaha is pushing hard and I would like to return to the top of the standings with them.”
Your season was similar to Marc’s. Has Marc’s situation opened your eyes a little to the fact that aiming for an opportunity in a satellite team if you feel you need to change is possible? Will you be watching his 2024 with interest for your future decisions?
“Yes. Of course it is very interesting for me to see what will happen next year with Marc. But especially with my teammate Franco (Morbidelli), who has been my partner since I started racing in MotoGP; I had a half year with Maverick (Vinales), but basically Franco has been my teammate for a long time. So I’m curious to see what he will do with an official Ducati and how quickly he will be able to adapt, given that he has remained the same years that I spent on a Yamaha. It will be an important first half of 2024 for me.”
Rins will join Yamaha next year. What do you hope Alex takes with him?
“He will be the only rider to ride three different bikes in three years. Last year he rode the Suzuki, this year the Honda and next year the Yamaha. Then, he rode the inline four-cylinder, the V4, and goes back to the inline four. His will be a very important comment for us: how the Honda ran, how the Suzuki ran. To be honest, as soon as he’s at Yamaha I’ll have many, many questions to ask him. Of course, for the first test no. But afterwards it will be very important for me to have clear questions to know how to improve during the season. Alex is someone I have known for many years and he is also a great rider.”
From the outside it seems that you still have a very good life and that you give more priority to this aspect since your competitive life was difficult. How much did it help you stay calm in 2023?
“You know, when I would go away from racing, I would be really sick for four-five days at home. I wasn’t enjoying real life. I was thinking about why things weren’t working, why I couldn’t come back, why nothing was getting better. Even the outside of competitions I always thought in a negative way. And this is an aspect that now, whatever happens on Sunday, great result or bad result, I turn off on Monday. I want to have fun with my family, my friends, train well, be in health and that for me is the main difference. Of course, when I’m on a race weekend I’m angry because I always want to be better. And I think if I get too calm, it would be because I don’t care. And even if it’s about moving up from P8 P7, I’ll give it everything. And, to be honest, I might say, ‘Well, I don’t care about P8 or P7.’ But that’s my mentality, to always be in front, and I think that’s something great from my point of view”.
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