Official: Fabio Quartararo staying at Yamaha Major coup for Yamaha as Fabio Quartararo signs a new MotoGP contract extension. Peter McLaren 05 Apr 2024 Share on: Fabio Quartararo, Portuguese MotoGP, 21 March Although without a race win since mid-2022, Yamaha has succeeded in convincing former world champion Fabio Quartararo to remain at the factory MotoGP team for the 2025 and 2026 seasons. The Frenchman has been a Yamaha rider since his 2019 premier-class debut with the former Petronas team, moving to the factory quad with instant title success in 2021. But the M1 has since fallen behind the European machines, with last year's victory drought marking its first winless year since 2003. Although, like Honda, Yamaha now benefits from technical concessions, Quartararo has been no higher than seventh in the opening rounds, prompting speculation he could switch to a more competitive rival factory, such as Aprilia. That has now proven to be false, with the 24-year-old won over by Yamaha's increased commitment to the M1 project and new 'aggressive mindset'. "I am super happy to announce that I am going to continue my adventure in BLUE!" Quartararo said. "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, they 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!" Securing Quartararo's signature is a major coup for Yamaha. "Keeping Fabio as a part of the Factory Team is integral to Yamaha's MotoGP Project," said Yamaha racing managing director Lin Jarvis. "Fabio is an exceptional talent, a hard worker, a great team player, and he has many competitive years ahead of him. "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. "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, increased development budget, and an 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. "Fabio has been with Yamaha since 2019 and with us, the Factory Team, since 2021. In a relatively short time span of just four years, we achieved many successes: 8 wins, 21 podiums, a MotoGP World Title, and a Vice Champion Title. "We are the first to admit that there is much work to do to get back to the competitive level we were at in 2021 and the first half of 2022. But with Fabio you know he will always put in 100% of his best effort.
Is that more a reflection of the other manufacturers/teams having their rider lineup mapped out for the immediate future giving him nowhere else to go ? Andy
Hopefully Yamaha reward him with a machine he can do well with again. I dont think he is in the Rossi/Marquez league but clearly int he better side of talent pool on the grid, shame to not see him fighting at the front
The same stuff was being said last time he signed. Is he just gonna sit on the factory paycheck till the new regs in 2027 level the playing field again?
I’d sit on a very sharp stick for 12 million a year lol https://www.crash.net/motogp/news/1...B1FNXIT6wI7zw8hxMyNNK-2rHI#Echobox=1712381802
It’s a waste, but he will continue to earn the cash I guess, they have short careers, maybe he will do another year there on the big bucks then go do a Marquez
Yeh I read aprilia offered him a third of that and when you’re not winning another championship on either bike it’s a pretty easy decision to make I guess.
