Yamaha Energy Monster racer, Valentino Rossi, thinks his team must immediately take steps to secure Fabio Quartararo.
No one thought that the name Fabio Quartararo would be so bright this season. The driver who just started his debut season in the main class was able to look impressive throughout the 2019 MotoGP event with five podium finishes.
Not only that, Quartararo also successfully won pole position four times, only losing to the world champion, Marc Marquez. The French-born racer is ranked seventh in the standings, only two points adrift of Valentino Rossi who is above him.
The positive results inevitably made the Quartararo team, Petronas Yamaha SRT, satisfied and rewarded him with upgrading the new engine. “We decided to give him an engine with a higher spin speed,” said Petronas Yamaha manager Wilco Zeelenberg, quoted from Speedweek.
The trust of the team bears sweet fruit. Quartararo was able to appear competitive in the 15th race series which was held in Thailand last weekend (6/10/2019). He is able to continue to lead in the front row, though again must be overtaken on the last lap.
Quartararo’s appearance drew admiration from Marquez who immediately ordained him as a rival that must be conquered next season. Positive responses also emerged from senior Quartararo at Yamaha, Valentino Rossi.
“It’s very important to keep Quartararo in the Yamaha team. Especially after the contract expires in 2020,” said Rossi. “He has been playing well since the age of 14 or 15 years. I am sure he will be like that in the future. I myself did not think that he would be this fast,” he added.
Rossi did not deny that Quartararo will become a hot commodity in the drivers’ transfer market. “I am sure all teams will want him in the 2021 season. So, Yamaha must immediately offer him a contract,” said the winner of the nine world titles. “They are really crazy if they don’t do it,” he said.
With four races remaining, Quartararo is predicted to secure the title of Rookie of the Year. The reason is, the achievement point now far exceeds the other rookie racers. In addition, the racer nicknamed El Diablo has the opportunity to become the best independent racer if he is able to win the competition with Jack Miller (Pramac Ducati).
The success of achieving these two targets will clearly raise the prestige of Quartararo so Yamaha will certainly have to work hard to fortify it.
