Fabio Quartararo drops new hint about mystery offers from unknown rivals

Fabio Quartararo supposedly had more options on the table than just Yamaha and Aprilia.

The 2021 MotoGP champion chose to sign a new contract tying him to Yamaha for at least two more seasons, making him the highest-paid rider on the grid.

The interest from Aprilia has been documented but Quartararo and his agent have now revealed that other options were on the table.

Tom Maubant, Quartararo’s agent, told TNT Sports in Le Mans: “Now I can tell you. It’s okay.

“I had offers from more or less everybody.

“At the end, Fabio knew since the beginning he wants to continue with Yamaha.

“What we saw in the test in Sepang, the improvement…

“The choice was easy.

“[Yamaha] showed a lot of interest to keep him, to secure him in the team. He will not forget this.”

Quartararo added: “Of course I had to look at all the manufacturers.

“I had really nice offers from other manufacturers.

“But, the way [Yamaha] invested into the project. “They gave me the opportunity to be a MotoGP rider.

“We won races and championships together.

“We were at the top. We are clearly at the bottom now.

“Also, my ego - I want to come back with them.”

His agent added: “We are guys like this. We will never forget what you did for us in the past.

“We know Yamaha is one of the biggest brains in the motorcycle world.

“We know the people in the team are pushing a lot.

“We know they will come back sooner or later, for sure.

“Yamaha is our family. Even in bad times we enjoy it because we love everybody there.

“Even if Fabio is angry after the race, because he is honest, when he arrives in the box he is amazing.”

Quartararo explained why he chose to stay despite Yamaha’s underperformance: “It was a number of things.

“It was not any promise. Just facts that I see.

“From the new people arriving last year when I asked what was the problem.

“From the first test in Sepang with the new engineers, when I asked how we can resolve it, or what was the problem, we clearly had answers.

“This was something that made me change with understanding the project.

“Max Bartolini came, the first meeting with him I asked thousands of questions about how it’s going in the red box.

“He could tell us everything. For the experience of Yamaha, it is great.

“That was a big reason for me to stay.”

Asked if he has imposed a deadline on Yamaha to see improvements, Quartararo answered: “I don’t want to be super in a rush. I believe in the project.

“The project is until the end of 2026.

“I want to be ready as soon as possible but it’s a long project.

“It will be better at the end of this year.”

Quartararo: Yamaha ‘totally forgot our strong point’

Quartararo listed the many issues he faces with his M1.

Crucially, he admitted that Yamaha have lost their big advantage in turning due to their pursuit in improving other areas.

“Braking, we miss the rear grip,” he began.

“We are missing the stopping performance. We are missing the turning. We are missing grip on acceleration.

“A lot of things, but clearly one is the turning. “The strong point for Yamaha in the past was the turning.

“We totally forgot this strong point and we need to come back.

“We improved slightly on the power but lost all the rest. We have to understand why.

“We will get them again, and we will be competitive.”

Quartararo has finished no higher than P7 in any of the five grands prix this season.

He crashed out of his home race, the French MotoGP, last weekend while inside the top six. It represented a positive, to be so competitive.

Quartararo explained his changing mentality with a sub-par bike: “It’s difficult because, as a winner and an athlete, the mind-set is different. “We know that we are struggling a lot with our bike.

“We are on the way. It’s difficult because we can’t arrive to a track and say ‘we are going to fight to win or for the podium’.

“The job we are doing now is important for our future.

“It’s important to stay calm and not think about the result.

“Yamaha understand a lot how, in the last years of MotoGP, how the sport has changed.

“We were stuck for three years. They understand now that we have to work in a completely different way.

“I can see, from the end of December, that Yamaha has totally changed.

“But when you have basically the same bike for three years? And you try to change everything?

“Of course we were lost. Now we are trying to find our way.

“The new engineers, the new mentality, the new way of working is completely different.

“We will arrive. But not in one week or three months. We need a lot of time.

“I believe a lot in the Yamaha project.

“This is the reason why I re-signed with Yamaha.”