Japanese manufacturers in general and Yamaha in particular are still in a tough situation in terms of performance at the 2024 MotoGP race weekend at the start of the season. There is a lot of speculation in the public domain that the strong reason for Fabio Quartararo’s belief in remaining with the Yamaha Factory in the next two years is due to financial reasons in the sense of a salary that is greater than that offered by other manufacturers and makes him the highest paid racer on the 2025 grid. At the 2024 Austin MotoGP Press Conference, Fabio explained in more detail his reasons for remaining at the Iwata Factory.
Quartararo explained that in Portimao, at the last grand prix, he held talks with Yamaha who were even informed about Yamaha’s future strategy, especially regarding the arrival of additional new technical personnel, although he could not reveal further.
“We have spoken with different manufacturers and the decision was not easy, but in Portugal we had a meeting with Yamaha senior technical management and they explained to us the project for this year and the next two years. “This is a secret, but there is some news and new personnel will join, the decision will be taken in Portugal,” he assured.
“Let’s see, this year there are no complaints, I keep talking. about the reality that I see. I think this project is more focused on the future than the present, the engineers only started in January and that takes time. Last year I complained a lot, but since Yamaha started working and making changes, I don’t complain, I don’t press. I’m just talking about how we are at the moment.”
Furthermore, he confirmed that he hopes to see something very different at Yamaha in 2025, as well as a more interesting project in the face of the new MotoGP regulations, which will come into force in three seasons: “With respect to 2027, One of the reasons is the budget. In terms of how they are going to invest in a motorbike, the budget is very high. We have Massimo Bartolini coming, with great ideas that can be implemented quickly. I think that next year we will see a very different situation.”
Finally, Quartararo continued to detail the reasons for his decision, even though he knows it will take time and the campaign will continue to be difficult, at least for a few months: “For me, it’s great because in Portugal I received a lot of information that made me want to stay First of all, future projects that are already underway, what convinces me is that [Yamaha] has radically changed the way things work.
” There is also confidential information regarding the future, Yamaha is investing heavily in the project. When a brand like Yamaha actually expresses its desire to keep me in its ranks, it shows its loyalty to me.”
“I don’t know when but I think 2024 will not be an easy year, we started late, but we will see some steps forward in the middle of the season, next year I think we will be able to fight for more positions at the front”
