Fabio Quartararo on contract renewal: “We have clearly stated our intentions”

Fabio Quartararo’s contract renewal with Yamaha for the 2025 and 2026 MotoGP seasons means he and the team can now ‘fully focus on the work we have to do’ – starting at COTA this weekend.

The Frenchman surprised many by re-signing so early, especially with little to show in terms of results in the opening rounds and rumours of interest from Portimao Sprint winner Aprilia.

But the former world champion believes he and Yamaha have “clearly stated our intentions” which, in his case, means bringing the factory “back to winning ways.”

“I'm happy to have announced my staying on with Yamaha. I think this will help us, both me and the team, because we have clearly stated our intentions,” Quartararo said.

“I want to bring Yamaha back to winning ways and they are motivated to develop the bike. So, now we can fully focus on the work we have to do to get to that point.”

Unfortunately for Quartararo and Yamaha, that work suffered a setback when the race team’s first private test of the year, scheduled for the Monday after Portimao, was ruined by bad weather.

“We arrive in Austin with work to do. We lost the opportunity to test in Portimao, so we need to work hard this weekend,” said Quartararo, who took his first grand prix podium in the Moto3 class at COTA in 2015, plus a premier-class rostrum last year. 

“We were very disappointed to be forced to cancel the private Portimao test due to heavy rain,” added team director Massimo Meregalli. “But there was no point in putting our riders in harm's way in those treacherous conditions. However, this does mean we need to make up for lost track time.

“COTA is not the easiest track, but we are optimistic about this round. Our riders like this circuit and have scored well here in the past, and the team always enjoys the atmosphere at this race weekend too.

“With Fabio having announced his staying on, the mood in the team is positive. We're all motivated to work, so we look forward to starting the Austin rodeo.”

Quartararo’s new team-mate Alex Rins won last year’s COTA race for LCR Honda.