Fabio Quartararo – name your price
A mesmerising display of perfection at Portimao was evidence that without Quartararo Yamaha’s world championship campaign would be in complete disarray.
The Yamaha M1 may be a dream machine to ride but it takes an alien to cover its glaring weakness, extract the maximum and bolt together a championship.
This is something, apart from stupendous talent, that Quartararo shares with Honda icon Marc Marquez. The notoriously difficultto-ride Honda RC213V can only be conquered by Marquez to win titles.
The M1 has different, but equally special, demands. Not just any rider rolls up and wins a championship on it. Quartararo is in rarefied air at Yamaha. Since 2004 he is the only rider to join Rossi and Lorenzo as a title-winner on the M1.
And it’s a bike that for two decades has barely blipped the speed gun. Again at Portimao Quartararo’s top speed was 339.6kph, down a massive 12kph on Ducati’s best!
‘He believes he can transfer his riding skills’
And 2021 champion Quartararo’s dominance of M1 results – nine wins in 56 starts – only piles the pressure on Yamaha engineers. Quartararo says the M1 “works fantastic” in almost all areas except his incessant, and mysteriously ignored, pleas for top speed.
While Yamaha bosses celebrate Quartararo’s innate ability to maximise qualifying excellence, front running pace with high-risk corner speeds, they do nothing to boost “free time” with top end power.
Where would Yamaha be without Quartararo?
Critically Quartararo, 23, believes his talents are transferable to any bike and he is resolute that the Portimao win has not made it easier to decide on re-signing with Yamaha. Likely more difficult and complex, and his demands increasingly strident, as he analyses whether Yamaha will finally match his risk appetite and ambition with more horsepower.
By some margin Quartararo is the most appealing free agent for 2023: for any manufacturer looking at future proofing their title aspirations.
While Honda have unshakeable faith in Marquez’s resilience despite two years of debilitating injuries, are they also the team most in need of a fresh insurance policy?