The case seemed over. For two decades, the MotoGP category, the premier discipline of speed motorcycles, had become a private preserve. Italian, first. Spanish then. But this domination has ended. And it was a 22-year-old Frenchman who knocked her down.
Sunday October 24, at the Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna in Misano, Italy, Fabio Quartararo won the world crown, two races from the end of the championship. A historic first: never had a Frenchman imposed himself in this category of the most powerful motorcycles (1000 cm3) entered in competition.
He finished in fourth place in a thrilling race, won by Spaniard Marc Marquez, ahead of another Spaniard, Pol Espargaro. While he was racing in the lead from the start, his Italian rival Francesco Bagnaia, the only one who could still worry him for the title, fell with five laps to go under pressure from Marquez.
For the Frenchman, who had a difficult weekend, this result is almost unexpected. Uncomfortable on a wet track, his weak point, he had only achieved the fifteenth fastest time in qualifying, his worst result this season and had to start from the back of the grid.
With 68 points ahead of Bagnaia, Fabio Quartararo can no longer be reached. After a very successful first part of the season, and five victories in twelve Grands Prix, he managed to manage his lead like an old man, the only driver to have finished all the races.
The feat is all the more remarkable as the Frenchman is only finishing his third season in MotoGP. “He’s been leading the championship most of the season. His dominance is bluffing, especially for such a young driver ”, comments Hervé Poncharal, boss of the Tech3 KTM team.
“The boss of the paddock”
The advent of Fabio Quartararo is no surprise. If he has never been titled in the lower categories (Moto3 and Moto2), he wowed the circuit as soon as he arrived in MotoGP, in 2019: seven podiums and the title of best rookie (” beginner “).
But it was in 2020, thanks to his passage from a Yamaha satellite team, Petronas Yamaha SRT, to the official team of the Japanese manufacturer, that he changed dimension, winning three victories. And, above all, by posing for a long time as a favorite in the succession of the six-time Spanish world champion Marc Marquez (dismissed by injury from the first Grand Prix). Before cracking.
“In previous years, the level was there, but he sometimes made mistakes, out of nervousness. This year he has gained the upper hand over everyone. He is the boss of the paddock ”, appreciates Hervé Poncharal. The use of a mental trainer in the offseason has undoubtedly helped the Frenchman to accelerate his metamorphosis.
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