‘THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE’
Breakthrough ride sees Frenchman storm to maiden win and series lead
Fabio Quartararo was crying for all the right reasons when he became the first French rider to win in MotoGP for 21 years on Sunday. Fourteen months ago in Jerez, the Petronas Yamaha SRT rider was heartbroken and in floods of tears when a failed gear shifter cruelly denied him the chance to score his first MotoGP podium. But it was tears of ecstasy last weekend when he pounced on a painful start to the season for Marc Marquez to take a first premier class win for France since Regis Laconi at Valencia in 1999.
His maiden success in southern Spain’s blazing heat saw him installed as the new bookies’ favourite to dethrone Marquez and become the first Frenchman in history to take MotoGP’s premier class crown. Quartararo, who was a fourmonth-old baby when Laconi triumphed, said: “I can’t believe it. It’s a dream come true. It will take some time for this to sink in but when I crossed the line it was an incredible feeling and it’s the best day of my life.”
Plucked from Moto2 obscurity two years ago by the newlyformed Petronas squad, Quartararo has quickly emerged as MotoGP’s brightest new star and showed in Jerez precisely why Yamaha wasted little time in moving into him into the official factory team next season at the expense of Valentino Rossi. Quartararo demonstrated consummate composure that belied his relative inexperience in MotoGP as he became the eighth youngest rider in history to win in the premier class.
He delivered a mistake-free masterclass in a race riddled with errors as track temperatures soared to a sizzling 53° Celcius, turning the Jerez surface into something with about as much grip as an ice rink. Quartararo added: “It was a very difficult race and so easy to make a mistake. It was so hard to keep concentrated with the heat and the track was so slippery. We were one second slower than Saturday’s pace but I’m happy with the way I managed it. The last ten laps were the longest of my life because the grip was so low and I didn’t want to throw away the win.”
His faultless performance certainly had Yamaha boss Lin Jarvis purring at the prospect of Quartararo partnering Mavervick Viñales in 2021.
He said: “The first victory is always very special and I’m very happy for Fabio. It’s certainly a good sign for the future.”
The only downside to his success was not having any family or friends on site to join in the celebrations now that MotoGP races are staged behind-closeddoors with severe restrictions on those allowed to enter the paddock because of Covid-19.