This Sunday, at the Marco Simoncelli Circuit, El Diablo will have the opportunity to give France its first world champion in the queen class. Apart from multiple other combinations, Quartararo will bag his first crown if he wins the race, or if he finishes second and Pecco Bagnaia does not cross the finish line first. The simple fact of being able to celebrate the alirón in the absence of two grand prix before the championship closes in Valencia allows one to get an idea of the superiority of the Yamaha rider, who has remained at the top of the points table since the fifth stop of the schedule, precisely at Le Mans.
His numbers so far make him unquestionably the man of the year, especially if we look at the transformation he underwent over the winter to be able to offer his best version. Those achievements that have led him to accumulate five victories and ten podiums, and to be the only competitor in the three categories capable of scoring points in all the events that have been held (15).
The brutal reliability that the boy from Nice demonstrates is a tremendous contrast when crossing his data with those of last season, in which he played all or nothing (his three wins were his only podiums) and ended up practically unhinged, a feeling endorsed by The stat: He has only 19 points in the last six tests. Despite racing for the Sepang Racing Team (SRT), a satellite structure, Quartararo started that season as one of the main candidates to win the World Championship and finished eighth, just two points ahead of ninth ( Miguel Oliveira ).
At that time, haste and convenience fueled the diagnosis that pointed to the motorcycle and the impact of COVID-19 (lack of tests), as the main reasons for these ups and downs. Above all, because that explanation also satisfied Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi, who were driving the same prototype. Franco Morbidelli’s good role with the 2019 bike (he was runner-up) acted as the perfect complement to the equation to take that argument for granted. However, the transformation of #20 is not only due to an increase in the performance of his motorcycle.
“The 2021 bike and the 2020 bike are quite similar. It could be summed up in that the new one is a little lighter, but little more, ”summarizes to Motorsport.com someone who leaves the Yamaha workshop. So how do you understand that metamorphosis of #20 ? “The most obvious change has been made by Fabio. That instability that came over him last season also affected Valentino and Viñales. But they keep it with the 2021 M1; Quartararo, no. That basically shows that both the problem and its solution were not on the bike”, adds this qualified voice.
“It was Fabio who, this year and thanks to that solidity, left Maverick without an excuse to the point of finishing the way he did – going to Aprilia . I am convinced that this Fabio would have been champion last year”, completes this source who prefers not to give his name.
Quartararo has never had any qualms about openly acknowledging having resorted to a sports psychologist to try to correct certain reactions when they have prevented him from optimizing his performance in certain circumstances. “It helps me to be more calm and focused on my work; to have more method”, he answers whenever he is asked about the benefits he obtains. Working with a psychologist can have a direct positive effect on the performance of those who decide to go to him. Recognizing it publicly, as Quartararo did, multiplies those revenues.
“Fabio has no problem acknowledging his fault when he has it,” Diego Gubellini , technical manager on the Quartararo side of the garage, told Motorsport.com. “Accepting those things reinforces a lot. This phenomenon follows a pattern that, in strategic psychology, is called ‘with the truth you will deceive them’. When you reveal that weakness, what you do is free yourself. That makes him strong and, in the eyes of others, also makes him seem so”, explains Pep Font , sports psychologist at the Sant Cugat High Performance Center (CAR), who throughout his career has advised, among others, Jorge Lorenzo , Nani Roma and Marc Coma , and who has been following the developments of Raúl Fernández for a few months.
“Psychology has a very important role in sports performance. Basically, because the fact of having the ability to do something specific, such as riding a motorcycle, does not mean that we are going to do it at the right time and in the right way. To do it when you want, you have to work at it, and that’s what psychology is all about,” adds Font.
Quartararo’s growth with a view to this 2021 has been integral, and also in relation to the pressure that, according to Marc Márquez, last year took its toll on him. “Until 2020, Fabio had never opted to be champion. Neither in Moto3 nor in Moto2. Now he has that experience, he has already been in a position to win a World Cup and not achieve it, ”reasons the Honda guy to whom he writes these lines. “Now he has managed it very well,” continues the Spaniard. And not only that, but the Frenchman has imposed his uncontested dominance without having a single scuffle with any of his opponents, an element to take into account in an era recounted from explosive confrontations (Lorenzo-Rossi, Márquez-Rossi) .
Hand in hand with the mental component comes the emotional aspect, which in the case of the World Cup leader plays an equally transcendental role. In his closest environment within the framework of the great prizes are Thomas Maubant , his inseparable assistant, and Éric Mahé , his representative, who sees the leap in quality that his client has given as the result of a natural process: “It is the progression logic of a kid who has talent and is highly motivated, and who has more and more experience and gets less nervous”, says the agent.
(Click on this link or on the image to see the photos of Fabio Quartararo’s 2021 season in MotoGP)
