After putting himself on the market because of dissatisfaction with the development of the YZR-M1, the Frenchman put his faith in the work of the Japanese and signed with Iwata's house for two more seasons
Another piece of the MotoGP puzzle has fallen into place. Yamaha announced on Thursday (2) the renewal of Fabio Quartararo's contract for two more seasons, ensuring that the reigning champion will remain with the YZR-M1 at least until 2024.
The agreement was delayed because of Fabio's dissatisfaction with the evolution of the bike. Expecting more power from the engine of the three-piston prototype, the Nice rider put himself on the market after seeing that the Japanese engineers could not get a development that would stand up to the Ducati's could, especially.
The market movement, however, did not seem favorable for an exit. In addition, Yamaha was committed to regaining Fabio's trust and spent weeks negotiating a new contract with the reigning champion, the only one who has been able to extract performance from the current bike. 'El Diablo, by the way, leads the World Championship, with an eight-point lead over Aleix Espargaró, the second-placed rider.
"We are happy to have reached this agreement with Fabio for him to continue with the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team in 2023 and beyond," said Lin Jarvis, team principal. "We brought Fabio into the team last year knowing that he is a special talent, but he has exceeded our expectations. It's not often you find a driver of his caliber," he followed.
"He had already shown his talent and speed in the two ones he spent with SRT Satellite in 2019 and 2020, but when he moved up to the factory team, we could really see him getting stronger and stronger and more mature as a driver," he pointed out. "In Fabio's first season and a half, we achieved a lot of success: six wins, 14 podiums, six pole-positions, and the 2021 MotoGP title. These results came from a strong team effort from the rider, his team, our engineers and all team members," he pointed out.
Jarvis also pointed out that the brand of the three tuning forks has committed with Quartararo to invest in the bike to achieve the necessary evolution to continue fighting for titles in MotoGP.
"With Fabio, we know that he will always give 100% of his best effort, and we have assured him that Yamaha will do the same and invest in future developments so that we can challenge for the MotoGP titles in the future," he added.
Quartararo stressed that he feels Yamaha is very motivated, but acknowledged that he made the decision calmly and did everything well thought out.
"I am really happy to announce to all of you that I will stay with Yamaha for another two years," Fabio celebrated. "In the past, moving up to MotoGP with Yamaha and then joining the factory team was insane. Yamaha believed in me from the beginning and that's something I won't forget," he commented.
"That said, this deal was an important decision. I am in a great moment of my career, so I took a little more time to make this decision and make sure. I believe Yamaha's project in MotoGP and I feel that Yamaha is truly motivated. And now that we have officially confirmed our decision to continue our path together, we can fully stay for the current season," he stressed. "I want to say 'thank you' to the people around me, who always help and support me, as well as the fans, who cheer for me. I really appreciate the support," he concluded.
The MotoGP World Championship returns to the track next week for the Catalunya GP in Barcelona.GRANDE PRÊMIO is following all the activities of the 2022 MotoGP World Championship.
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