In a season where the lack of speed has caused distrust in the fingerboard brand, the recurring calls for attention and requests from its regular riders marked a before and after in the course of Yamaha .
After signing his continuity with the Japanese manufacturer until 2024 , Fabio Quartararo will continue to be the spearhead of the Iwata brand. His regularity, perseverance and charisma on the M1 have placed him at the top of the 2022 qualifying sheet, and these dice did not take long to confirm that, so far, the Frenchman has proven to be the only one capable of squeezing the most out of the prototype.
For that reason, the Monster Energy box will continue under the guidance of the Côte d’Azur rider, who, together with his teammate Franco Morbidelli, will try to make the Yamaha M1 a competent bike on any circuit in the championship.
However, becoming the leader of the MotoGP World Championship has not been a bed of roses for the French rider.
“I no longer think about whether I’m going first or if I have to maintain that opposition. This year I think that’s one of my strongest points. From every bad moment you can extract a positive point, and that’s what makes me overcome myself when I have a bad result.”
“This negative 10% is what makes you improve in your career, because in 2016 and 2017 I had lousy years that made me stronger,” said the reigning champion after leaving the first half of 2022 as leader.
Outscoring his closest rival, Aleix Espargaró, by 21 points, Fabio Quartararo spoke out about the pressure of being the leader in MotoGP.
“I haven’t felt the pressure for a long time. I’m enjoying myself and Yamaha isn’t putting pressure on me. I’m not putting pressure on myself because I feel like I don’t need to. Before the race and qualifying it’s not pressure, it’s stress. It’s the stressful moment, just before the start. The pressure is something that I am able to manage very well this year”, added the Frenchman.
The arrival of the new course brought with it a new Fabio Quartararo . More mature and consistent, the French rider faces his second season as a benchmark on the grid of the premier class.
“When you know your potential and you know that you can be fighting for victories and podiums. In my case, that I have won a championship, I already know the pressure. The pressure that I had in 2021, the last two races in which the championship was at stake, was very hard. Right now, that we are in the middle of the championship, my only goal is to fight for victory and I don’t think about the world championship every time I get on the bike”, concluded the Yamaha rider.
