Fabio Quartararo has ended speculation of jumping ship, with Yamaha’s MotoGP squad confirming Friday that the Frenchman has signed a two-year contract extension.
The 2021 World Champion and 2022 runner-up battled through a sustained period of poor form from the Japanese marque, as the M1 has fallen well behind its European competitors in the development race.
Quarataro failed to add to his win tally in 2023 and finished a lowly 10th in the Riders’ standings with 172 points to his name, 295 points adrift of Champion Francesco Bagnaia aboard his dominant Ducati Desmosedici GP23 machine.
2024 has hardly gotten off to a great start, with Quartararo picking up the best result of seventh so far in the Portuguese GP at Portimao and sitting on 15 points after the first two rounds, 45 behind current leader Jorge Martin.
As one of a plethora of riders entering a contract year, many believed Quartararo’s head could be turned by the likes of Aprilia, who have gotten off to a strong start in 2024, winning the Portuguese Sprint thanks to the exploits of Maverick Vinales.
Alas, the 2021 Champion remains faithful that Yamaha can turn its fortunes around and will remain at the team that granted him a title through the 2026 season.
“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!”
Managing Director of Yamaha Motor Racing Lin Jarvis added: “We are very pleased that Fabio will remain a Yamaha rider.
“Keeping Fabio as a part of the Factory Team is integral to Yamaha’s MotoGP Project. 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. 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.”
