Fabio Quartararo is the rider who will replace Valentino Rossi on the Yamaha factory team, part of the generational turnover that the Iwata manufacturer is implementing to prepare for the future challenges of MotoGP. In recent months, the Frenchman has been able to visit the Yamaha HQ, based in Gerno di Lesmo, and get to know his new team.

During his visit, the Frenchman was struck by the 2004 M1, the bike with which Rossi won in his first year with Yamaha and one which Fabio associates with his very first racing memories.

Childhood memories

Back then, Fabio was a still a child watching the races on TV: "It’s the first bike I remember. At the time, I told myself, one day I’ll be a rider too", he told French TV show Clique, thinking back to Rossi’s exploits during his first season with Yamaha.

Quartararo must now take a big step up in quality if he wants to fight for the title in 2021, but he has some fond memories of 2020, like his first MotoGP win at Jerez for instance. A feat he then repeated the very next week at the Andalusian GP, where he shared the podium with Valentino. There, the Doctor was quick to congratulate Quartararo. “It was fantastic. After my second win, Valentino came to me and congratulated me on my success. If someone had told me that would happen a few years ago, I wouldn’t have believed it”, commented El Diablo.

I’ll need more consistency in 2021

After his third win of the season at Barcelona, the Frenchman’s results began to wane, the rider eventually concluding the championship in eighth place: “I need to focus on what needs doing and not act emotionally”, continues Quartararo. "This year, when I immediately won the first two races it was like a weight had lifted. But then I didn’t know how to maintain that lightness that I needed".

Wearing factory colours will make his consistency even more important: “I feel a real responsibility but also a great sense of gratitude. I’ll do all I can to repay the trust being put in me”, concludes the French rider.

Translated by Heather Watson

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