Motorcycle Racing

“Not an easy decision” to sign new Yamaha deal

Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing MotoGP

The current championship leader confirmed his decision to stay with Yamaha on the eve of this weekend’s Catalan Grand Prix, with the deal having been confirmed “a few weeks ago.”

Although he said on Thursday he had been tempted to move to a different manufacturer, the Frenchman explained that he was “super happy” with the decision to stay with Yamaha because the team “know where they need to improve.”

Quartararo also said Yamaha is working to direct extra resource to its engine department in a bid to bring more power to the 2023 bike, an area he has previously expressed disappointment in.

He said: “It was not an easy decision and we took a little bit more time to evaluate all the project. At the end, Yamaha make a lot of effort, bring a lot of new people and they know where they need to improve.

“The last two or three years, they were in some areas to another and know where they need to improve and they know clearly it’s the power.

“I’m super happy because they really understand, they’re doing the best to find what we are missing and I believe in the project, so that’s why we took the decision. I will not say days, but a few weeks ago, and of course it was a good decision.”

He added: “My first goal is to have the best bike and the best project, like I said before, and they convinced me because they bring new people, they are working super hard, and they know exactly where they need to improve.

“But in the past maybe they were working on a few areas, but they don’t really maybe accept that the bike was more slow than the others.

“And now they know and they clearly work on this weak point, that’s what made me take the decision to stay in Yamaha.”

Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing MotoGP

Photo by: Yamaha MotoGP

Quartararo has been the standout Yamaha rider in 2022, scoring a win in Portugal and three other podiums to lead the standings by eight points. The combined points total of team-mate Franco Morbidelli and RNF…

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