Fabio Quartararo has an usual description for his 2024 season

Fabio Quartararo has declared the 2024 MotoGP season as his “best” in the premier class, even if his results were worse than ever.

Quartararo re-signed for Yamaha earlier this year after turning down a move to Aprilia, the only manufacturer other than Ducati to win a race in 2024.

Yamaha has been in decline in MotoGP since at least the second half of the 2022 season, but Quartararo feels not only that Yamaha is arresting its slide away from the pinnacle of the premier class, but also that, despite the underwhelming performance of the YZR-M1, he has been able to extract more from himself in 2024 than ever before.

“In terms of riding, in terms of working with the team, I think it’s the best [season],” Quartararo, who endured his first MotoGP season without a podium in 2024, said at the season-closing Solidarity Grand Prix.

“In terms of results, it’s clearly the worst, but in terms of how I learn, how I learn to stay calm and try to improve the bike in the best way possible — of course on the inside there are moments where you really get angry, but it’s in a really short time. But I think the way we have worked this year has been amazing.

“Of course, I expect the improvement to be much faster and quicker, but we find a way.

“On my personal side, on the riding, I think I managed to get really something extra and in the tough moments is where you really learn.”

MotoGP’s updated concessions system for 2024 allowed Yamaha — and Honda — increased testing and development potential than their European rivals.

While they didn’t immediately catapult the two Japanese brands back to the front, Quartararo felt that, at least in Yamaha’s case, the concessions saved 2024 from being a “disaster”.

“Without the concessions, [this season] would have been a disaster” he said.

“What was missing was riders: we have only two; Cal [Crutchlow, Yamaha test rider] had an injury on the arm, [so] we had no test rider, no riding, we were alone basically. This, for me, was the biggest issue this year.

“But next year with another factory team (Pramac), the test team is growing quite a lot for next year, and I think the way we have taken since Misano 2 has been much better. We see the results is not fantastic but at least it’s growing step-by-step.

“We missed only one Q2 since Misano 1. So, the progress is there, and I think next year the progress will be even faster.”