MotoGP, Marquez: "Quartararo's renewal did not surprise me, he has more time than me"

The results crisis that Yamaha has been going through since last year seemed destined to lead Fabio Quartararo toward parting ways with the House of the Three Diapasons, with which he made his MotoGP debut in 2019, later graduating World Champion in 2021. It would be a move that would in some ways trace Marc Marquez's decision to leave Honda at the end of last season, with the aim of regaining stimulation and competitiveness on the Ducati Desmosedici GP23 of the Gresini Racing team.

Unlike the eight-time world champion, however, the champion from Nice has decided to renew his faith in the Yamaha project and continue wearing blue until 2026. Persuaded by the plans for the future presented by the Japanese manufacturer, which has already begun its work of relaunching with a deep restructuring of its technical area, with the grafting of, among others, the former Ducati technician, Massimo Bartolini. A renewal that was difficult to predict, that of El Diablo, which took much of the paddock by surprise before the race weekend in Austin.

Those who were not particularly impressed by the transalpine's choice, however, were rivals Marc Marquez himself, as he admitted when commenting on the news with Motorsport.com colleagues."I am not surprised that Quartararo stayed at Yamaha. First of all because Yamaha is Yamaha, just like Honda is Honda. Sooner or later they will come," said the Catalan.

Although he found himself in a similar position to the transalpine, Marc is convinced that there are some substantial differences between the two situations. Namely, their age, as Fabio can boast a full seven years younger than him, and the sporting ordeal he has been through since the right humerus fracture suffered in Jerez in 2020.

"Many have made comparisons to my situation, but Fabio has much more time than me. He did not go through a period like I did, with a very important injury that even led me to doubt myself," the 31-year-old noted. " When you are in a project where you have been given so much and are promised more, it is normal to have patience and trust that this will come. You have to have confidence and also luck, that the engineers can find the key that results in a competitive bike."

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