Fabio Quartararo honour awarded by French president dates back to Napoleon

Fabio Quartararo has been honoured with France’s highest order of military and civil merit.

The Chevalier de la Légion D'Honneur was bestowed upon the MotoGP rider by France President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace in Paris.

It is the highest honour in France and dates back to Napoleon.

He is just the third French motorsports star to receive the award, after Sebastian Loeb and Alain Prost.

Quartararo won the 2021 MotoGP championship and only missed out on retaining his title on the final day of 2022.

But last year, Quartararo endured a dreadful campaign blighted by his below-par Yamaha.

He secured just three podiums and finished 10th in the MotoGP standings, his worst result in his five years in the premier class.

New concessions rules will allow Yamaha a big chance to close the gap to the front-runners Ducati.

Those rules mean Quartararo and new teammate Alex Rins can be on track from February 1 at the Sepang shakedown.

But they will continue to be restricted by having only two bikes on the 2024 grid, compared to four for KTM, Aprilia and Honda, and eight for Ducati.

Quartararo is also entering the final year of his current contract with Yamaha.

All but two MotoGP riders are also in the final year of deals with their manufacturers meaning a rider merry-go-round could commence from this summer, with Quartararo inevitably hot property.

How the Yamaha M1 shapes up from the Sepang shakedown will be the first step in Quartararo deciding his long-term future.