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El Diablo story: Know more about new MotoGP champion Fabio Quartararo

Quartararo is the first French premier class World Champion in history and the first Yamaha rider to lift the crown since 2015.

Fabio Quartararo

Bengaluru, October 25: Fabio Quartararo who became the 2021 FIM MotoGP world champion after a dramatic thriller at the Emilia Romagna GP, was just four years old when his father Etienne - a former French 125cc Champion - gave him a Yamaha PW50.

It is a familiar story for future MotoGP riders, and although Quartararo's rise would prove stratospheric, there were definitely a few challenges and difficult seasons along the way.

After getting that first bike, he began riding at different mini circuits around his home Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur region to master the basics before then going racing in Italy and Spain.

Quartararo crowned world champion after dramatic Bagnaia crashQuartararo crowned world champion after dramatic Bagnaia crash

And the success began early: the 50cc, 70cc and 80cc titles in the Catalan Championship and the pre-Moto3 title in the Mediterranean Championship showed promise, but once the young Frenchman arrived in the FIM CEV Repsol, or the Spanish Moto3 Championship as it was then, that promise exploded into something a lot bigger.

Winning the series that has now become the FIM Moto3 Junior World Championship is one of the biggest achievements for a young rider. So becoming the youngest to do it in 2013 and then defending the crown the year after even more so.

That allowed Quartararo the opportunity to move into Moto3 earlier than previously allowed and when he did, remaining in Estrella Galicia 0,0 colours, the momentum for the young Frenchman rolled on.

'New Marquez'

'New Marquez'

Quartararo debuted in Moto3 with 7th in Qatar in 2015, and it took him only one more race to get on the podium as he took second in Texas. Two more top sixes followed, he was on pole at Jerez, and he was back on the podium at the TT Circuit Assen too.

The whispers of the new Marquez grew into assured articles, ramping up the pressure on a rider who was already, despite the moniker from some corners, instead very much the first Quartararo.

Back into groove

Back into groove

Enter another key figure in the rise of El Diablo: Luca Boscoscuro. El Diablo moved to the Speed Up team with Boscoscuro at the helm for 2018, and on Moto2 take two it actually started worse: a 20th in Qatar and 22nd in Argentina.

But then it started to come together: a 15th at COTA, a 10th at Jerez, an 8th at Le Mans... 11th at Mugello interrupted the pattern, but it was another solid result as Quartararo started to get back in the groove.

Stars aligned

Stars aligned

At Catalunya, the stars aligned. Saturday saw the Frenchman take his first Moto2 pole and on Sunday, he unleashed the first truly dominant performance of his Grand Prix career, fastest lap included.

No one had an answer for the number 20, and he took his first Grand Prix win by nearly two and a half seconds. Next time out at Assen, it was another podium too. The return to the rostrum and that first victory had seemed a long time coming, but the timing could not have been more perfect.

Premier class

Premier class

By the time Quartararo took that win, there appeared to be a split between those who had been waiting for the success they saw as inevitable and those who had written the Frenchman off.

The new Petronas Yamaha SRT outfit, and Yamaha boss Lin Jarvis, were definitely not the latter and at Silverstone it became official: Quartararo would join MotoGP in 2019. So he finished the 2018 Moto2 season with a solid run of form and then left the intermediate class to saddle up in MotoGP and the rest is history in the best possible way.

Debut season

Debut season

On the pace from the off, Quartararo's stunning debut season silenced the doubters. Fast and consistently so, and somehow making it look easy, it was not long until the number 20 was an established, expected presence at the front. Seven podiums saw Quartararo end the year fifth overall, take Rookie of the Year and the overall top Independent Team rider title. Fabio Quartararo had arrived.

In 2020, it started with a dream double win at Jerez and the Yamaha rider seemed the man to beat. But after some twists and turns, it was not until Barcelona that El Diablo got back on top. Some more struggles later, the crown was instead nabbed by Joan Mir at Valencia and Quartararo went into winter pushing to reset and reload, vowing to iron out the kinks and fight for the crown again.

History maker

History maker

That he did, and he did it in Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP colours as he took on a new chapter with the factory Yamaha outfit. With a 52-point advantage, starting 15th and seeing Franseco Bagnaia on pole was not ideal, but El Diablo kept calm and carried on, slicing back through the pack to fourth.

It would not have been enough had Bagnaia not crashed, but the Ducati rider's final stand was ultimately just over the limit - guaranteeing Quartararo the crown with two races spare. With five victories, ten podiums and a sublime season of speed, Quartararo is the history-making 2021 MotoGP world champion!

(By a special arrangement with Dorna Sports)

Story first published: Monday, October 25, 2021, 12:00 [IST]
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