2021 Champion, Yamaha rider is already the most successful Frenchman in the history of the World Motorcycle Championship and was honored by the French government. Besides 'El Diablo', Sébastien Ogier also received the honor
Fabio Quartararo has been awarded the title of Knight of the National Order of the Legion of Honor by the government of France. At the age of 23, the 2021 MotoGP champion is already the most successful Frenchman in the history of the World Motorcycle Championship. In addition to 'El Diablo', Sébastien Ogier also received the honor on the July 14th holiday, which marks the 233rd anniversary of the fall of the Bastille, an event considered by historians to be the beginning of the French Revolution.
The National Order of the Legion of Honor is a decoration established in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte to reward military or civilian achievements to the nation. It is France's highest honor, and is awarded by the head of state to personalities who excel in their respective activities.
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In addition to Quartararo and Ogier, this year's list of Legion of Honor recipients also includes mathematician Hugo Duminil-CopiHugo Duminil-Copin, who recently received the Fields Medal, mathematics' most prestigious award, for solving "long-standing problems in the probabilistic theory of phase transitions.
"It is a date to leave marked on a white stone," said Sébastien Poirier, president of the French Motorcycling Federation. "The echoes of this distinction will resonate forever on the national sporting scene, it is a recognition at the highest level of our world champion's performance for the Nation," he stressed.
"I am proud and delighted for Fabio. Through him, all motorcycling shines," he closed.
On social media, the 2022 MotoGP leader celebrated the honor and said he was very proud to defend the colors of France.
"I am very honored to be named Knight of the Legion of Honor," he wrote on Instagram. "I am very proud to wear the colors of France and I will do my best to carry those colors at the highest level for many more years to come. Happy July 14 to all," he added.
Quartararo and Ogier are not the first motor sport athletes to be awarded the Legion of Honor. Before, Sébastien Loeb, in 2009, and Alain Prost had already been honored. The four-time Formula 1 champion, incidentally, was elevated to the rank of officer in 1993.
MotoGP is now on vacation and will be back in action on August 7, with the British GP at Silverstone.GRANDE PRÊMIO is following all the activities of the 2022 MotoGP World Championship.