Fabio Quartararo has signed on for two more years with Yamaha. The Frenchman will be racing in the factory Monster Energy Yamaha team for the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
The move had been long expected. Despite early rumors that Quartararo was disappointed with the offer Yamaha had made, the two sides were destined to end up together.
Quartararo has a very strong understanding of the Yamaha M1, and is able to use the bike to be extremely competitive.
And as Quartararo is the only rider capable of being competitive, Yamaha had no option but to do what they needed to keep Quartararo.
Quartararo’s renewal is also a sign of faith in Yamaha’s ability to build him a competitive bike.
The factory had brought a new, more powerful engine for the 2022 season, but could not make it reliable enough, and so switched back to the previous generation of engine.
Work is continuing on the engine they rejected to make it more reliable, and improve the Yamaha M1’s top speed.
Quartararo’s signing brings the number of riders signed up for 2023 up to 7. Marc Marquez, Aleix Espargaro, Maverick Viñales, Brad Binder, and Pecco Bagnaia all have contracts through 2024, while Franco Morbidelli has a contract for 2023.
Whether that contract will be honored, and whether Morbidelli is complying with the performance clauses in his contract, is as yet unknown.
Source: Yamaha Racing
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