Fabulous Quartararo
Why the young Yamaha rider can go all the way
Fabio Quartararo will be a MotoGP race winner before the end of 2019 before becoming a serious title contender next year. That’s the expert analysis of Marc Marquez, who denied the phenomenal Frenchman a dream first premier class win in a dramatic final lap in Misano. The pair exchanged three passes for the lead on a nail-biting last circuit, with Quartararo missing out on becoming the first Frenchman to win a GP since since Regis Laconi 1999 by just 0.9s. Aged only 20, Quartararo has transformed himself into MotoGP’s brightest young talent and Marquez is bracing himself for a consistent challenge in the future from the starlet from Nice. In fact, Marquez was gushing and glowing in his praise of Quartararo after clinching his seventh victory of the season which also astonishingly made it 18 races in a row in which he has finished in the top two.
He said: “Fabio showed what I already knew. He has the talent to fight for the championship next year. And I believe that between now until the end of the season he is going to be a very tough contender and will win some races. But I predict that next year he is going to be one of the toughest opponents.” Flattered by the compliments, Quartararo said engaging with Marquez in such a frenetic battle was the greatest moment of his life. “Fighting for the win on the last lap with a great champion like Marc is not just the best moment of my career but the best moment of my life. It’s a dream come true to be fighting with him in my rookie year. He has much more experience than me but I fought with him the whole race.” Quartararo added: “I was just so happy to overtake him on the last lap. This gives me unbelievable confidence for the future. He is a seven-times world champion but I can overtake him on the last lap and show he is human like us.” This time last year the Petronas Yamaha SRT squad had existed for less than a month but it’s a measure of how much Quartararo has taken MotoGP by storm this year that team principal Razlan Razali said: “For Fabio to lead for so many laps and fight head-on with Marc is just incredible. We’re happy with what we’ve achieved but we can’t hide the fact that we’re a little disappointed to be so close to our first win in MotoGP by missing out on the final lap.”