2021 MotoGP World Champion Fabio Quartararo has sealed his Grand Prix future for the next two seasons, having signed a new two-year contract to remain with the factory Yamaha team.
Quartararo’s extension with Yamaha will take him until the end of 2026 with the Iwata marque, with which he won that 2021 title in his first year in its factory team.
Quartararo’s entire MotoGP career has been spent with Yamaha, having first joined in 2019 with the Petronas SRT satellite team which has now morphed into the Trackhouse Racing Aprilia team.
By the end of 2026, Quartararo will have completed six seasons at the factory Yamaha MotoGP team, which will make him their third-longest-serving rider of the MotoGP era after Valentino Rossi (15 seasons) and Jorge Lorenzo (nine seasons).
Speaking on his renewal, Quartararo explained that changes made over the winter to the way Yamaha works in MotoGP have been the factor to convince him to stay with the manufacturer, which - along with fellow Japanese brand Honda - has fallen behind its European rivals - Ducati, Aprilia, and KTM - since the turn of the decade, and especially since 2022 (Quartararo’s last win coming in the 2022 German Grand Prix).
“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,” Quartararo said.
“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.”
Yamaha Motor Racing Managing Director, Lin Jarvis, also spoke of the internal changes Yamaha has made, as well as the importance of Quartararo to its own MotoGP future.
“Keeping Fabio as a part of the factory team is integral to Yamaha's MotoGP project,” Jarvis said.
“Fabio is an exceptional talent, a hard worker, a great team player, and he has many competitive years ahead of him.
“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.”
Jarvis, though, also admits that the Yamaha’s performance still needs to improve. “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,” he said. “But, with Fabio, you know he will always put in 100% of his best effort. It also comes natural to him to create harmony and a good atmosphere with all staff members. He can count on the team's and Yamaha's full support every step of the way as we challenge to win more championships together.”
Quartararo will be back in MotoGP action next week (12-14 April) at the Grand Prix of the Americas in the US, which will be round three of the 2024 season.
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