Fabio Quartararo Crowned MotoGP World Champion with Misano Fourth

25-10-2021

Fabio Quartararo Crowned MotoGP World Champion with Misano Fourth

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Fabio Quartararo secured his first MotoGP World Championship title this weekend with a superb fightback to a fantastic fourth in Misano.

Fabio Quartararo had his first chance at MotoGP glory this weekend and accomplished his dream after fighting from 15th to fourth at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli.

Starting from 15th after a wet qualifying affair, Quartararo was cautious on the opening lap, losing a few positions in the opening corners. As the race settled the Frenchman pushed on, picking off his rivals before breaking into the top ten on lap six.

Continuing his charge, the rider from Nice continued his rise through the pack, closing the gap and joining the fight for fifth. Sat in ninth, Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team-mate Franco Morbidelli was the first man on his list. Passing the Italian for eighth at turn four, Quartararo was quick to pass Luca Marini for seventh.

With a top-five in sight, the 22-year-old overhauled Alex Rins to claim sixth before a brave pass on Aleix Espargaro at Tramonto completed his charge. A mistake on the exit of turn ten however saw the Frenchman drop back to sixth momentarily but bravely reclaimed the position at Curvone.

Eight seconds adrift, the podium looked out of reach with seven laps to go, but crashes for Miguel Oliveira and Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia in the closing stages promoted the newly-crowned champion onto the rostrum.

Holding onto third with half a lap remaining, the Yamaha man had Enea Bastianini close behind and narrowly lost out on third with three corners to go, bringing his M1 Yamaha home in fourth securing his first MotoGP crown and France’s maiden MotoGP World Champion. The Frenchman also became the sixth youngest premier class champion.

Valentino Rossi’s final dance at home ended in a top ten finish. The Italian started from the back of the field and found himself last at the end of the opening lap. The wise 42-year-old used his experience as riders around him struggled with the 20-degree track temperature to secure tenth place in his final visit to Misano in MotoGP.

Petronas Yamaha SRT team-mate Andrea Dovizioso obtained more points aboard his M1. His third race on the Yamaha ended in 13th place after he followed compatriot Rossi through the pack to secure three points.

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Franco Morbidelli ended his home Grand Prix in 14th. A strong starting Morbidelli ran fifth in the opening laps but struggled with fitness as he continues his recovery. The former Moto2 Champion finished 14th securing two points.

Fabio Quartararo’s championship rounds off a sensational season with two races remaining. Five victories with five further podium finishes sees the champion head to Portimao, a circuit he claimed a dominant victory at in April, 65 points clear atop of the table. Yamaha lies second in the constructor’s championship, 12 points behind the leaders while Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP reclaim the top spot in the team’s championship standings.

The paddock will now take a break before returning to action for the second visit to Portimao, a race dominated by Quartararo in April, across the weekend of 5-7th November.

GP Nolan Del Made in Italy e Dell'Emilia-Romagna GP Race Results:
1. Marc Marquez - Repsol Honda Team
2. Pol Espargaro - Repsol Honda Team +4.859
3. Enea Bastianini - Avintia Esponsorama +12.013
4. Fabio Quartararo - Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP +12.775
5. Johann Zarco - Pramac Racing +16.458
6. Alex Rins - Team SUZUKI ECSTAR +17.669
7. Aleix Espargaro - Aprilia Racing Team Gresini +18.468
8. Maverick Viñales - Aprilia Racing Team Gresini +18.607
9. Luca Marini - SKY VR46 Avintia +25.417
10. Valentino Rossi - PETRONAS Yamaha SRT + 27.735
11. Brad Binder - Red Bull KTM Factory Racing + 27.879
12. Michele Pirro - Ducati Lenovo Team + 28.137
13. Andrea Dovizioso - PETRONAS Yamaha SRT +41.413
14. Franco Morbidelli - Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP + 42.830
15. Takaaki Nakagami - LCR Honda IDEMITSU + 1'22.462
NC. Francesco Bagnaia - Ducati Lenovo Team +5 laps
NC. Miguel Oliveira - Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +5 laps
NC. Jorge Martin - Pramac Racing +15 laps
NC. Iker Lecuona - Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing +17 laps
NC. Alex Marquez - LCR Honda CASTROL +18 laps
NC. Jack Miller - Ducati Lenovo Team +24 laps
NC. Danilo Petrucci - Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing +25 laps
NC. Joan Mir - Team SUZUKI ECSTAR +25 laps

2021 MotoGP World Championship Standings
1. Fabio Quartararo - Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP 267 points
2. Francesco Bagnaia – Ducati Lenovo Team 202 points
3. Joan Mir – Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 175 points
4. Johann Zarco – Pramac Racing 152 points
5. Jack Miller – Ducati Lenovo Team 149 points
6. Marc Marquez – Repsol Honda Team 142 points
7. Brad Binder – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 136 points
8. Aleix Espargaro – Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 113 points
9. Maverick Viñales – Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 106 points
10. Miguel Oliveira – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 92 points
11. Alex Rins – Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 91 points
12. Pol Espargaro – Repsol Honda Team 90 points
13. Enea Bastianini – Avintia Esponsorama 87 points
14. Jorge Martin – Pramac Racing 82 points
15. Takaaki Nakagami – LCR Honda IDEMITSU 71 points
16. Alex Marquez - LCR Honda CASTROL 54 points
17. Franco Morbidelli – Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP 42 points
18. Iker Lecuona – Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing 38 points
19. Danilo Petrucci - Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing 37 points
20. Luca Marini – SKY VR46 Avintia 37 points
21. Valentino Rossi – PETRONAS Yamaha SRT 35 points
22. Stefan Bradl – Honda HRC 13 points
23. Michele Pirro – Ducati Lenovo Team 12 points
24. Dani Pedrosa – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 6 points
25. Andrea Dovizioso – PETRONAS Yamaha SRT 6 points
26. Lorenzo Savadori – Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 4 points
27. Tito Rabat – Pramac Racing 1 point
28. Cal Crutchlow – Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP 0 points
29. Garrett Gerloff – PETRONAS Yamaha SRT 0 points
30. Jake Dixon – PETRONAS Yamaha SRT 0 points

Fabio Quartararo

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Position: 4th

"To be honest, I still can't believe what I achieved today... This feels so good! It wasn't an easy race. On the first laps I saw Miller crash, but I thought it was Marc. Then I looked at the TV, and I saw that Marc was fighting with Pecco. Then I saw another red bike crashing. At that moment I wasn't happy. I was just thinking ’Okay, Pecco crashed‘ and I‘m glad he is okay. To try to finish on the podium was a little bit the target, but our front tyre was in a bad shape by then, and I couldn't make it in the end. But I don't care. I became a World Champion today. I could have finished last, and the result would have been the same. I have no words. I just want to enjoy this moment with the team."

Valentino Rossi

PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team Position: 10th

"I’m happy about today because I was able to have a decent race, despite starting from the back of the grid. I had a good pace, plus I felt good with the bike and the tyres. I was able to push, enjoy some fights for position and finish in the top-ten. This is the best way to say “ciao” to the crowd because there has been a great atmosphere today with the track full of fans. I was also able to enjoy some nice moments after the flag. Usually I don’t like surprises, but to see ‘Grazie Vale’ around the circuit and all the celebrations organised after the chequered flag was very emotional for me. Fabio [Quartararo] really deserves the title because he has always been very strong and made no mistakes. I send my congratulations to him."

Andrea Dovizioso

PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team Position: 13th

“It has been a very difficult weekend because we struggled a lot in the wet and I was not that fast yesterday. I expected a bit more today, not with our position but with our pace, however it didn’t feel good from the start of the race. I didn’t really improve this weekend, however we tackled some bad conditions and this can help us make changes to the bike. Overall though, I’m not too happy with the weekend, but I expect to improve the feeling in Portimao. Fabio [Quartararo] has done something crazy this year and is riding in a special way, so big congratulations to him because he has been so consistent this year and I’m really happy for him."

Franco Morbidelli

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Position: 14th

"I'm happy with the overall performance we had this weekend. We improved a lot. I improved the feeling with the bike and for sure my condition was better, and I was able to be faster until midway through the race. Unfortunately, I'm not fit enough to maintain the pace of this level of racing yet. I needed to slow down and cruise around in the second half of the race. But we made some good steps, so I'm happy. I want to say ’Congratulations' to the team and to Fabio. They did a wonderful and amazing job this year. Fabio was really on point this season and really fast. He was really the best, so he deserves this championship, and he and the team deserve this kind of result."

Massimo Meregalli

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP, Team Director

"I do also want to take this moment to congratulate Bagnaia on his strong title challenge this year. We have nothing but respect for him. We are happy that he is unhurt. We didn't want to win the championship in this manner, but it doesn't take away from Fabio and the team's amazing work.

"I want to congratulate and thank the team members and Yamaha engineers for their dedication. Riding a race in the dry with little to no dry track time in the sessions before is hard to do at any time, let alone when the Championship Title is at stake. But the whole team pulled together. They contributed so much to this title win, and I can't wait to celebrate with them.

"Lastly, I want to say ’Well done‘ to Franky. He rode such a strong first half of the race, which is not at all easy to do when you're still recovering from such a serious leg injury. We knew keeping up the pace for 27 laps would be very hard for him, but to see his potential as a rider at the top level of motorsports in the first half of the race was really nice to see. We know that it's only a matter of time before he is fully healed and able to fight for the full race length again. He will soon be back at the front where he belongs.

"The next races will be ’easier‘ for us, because we will have less pressure, but we still want to be there at the front to see if we can also win the Team and Constructor Titles. We will try to wrap up this season in the best way possible."

Razlan Razali

PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team, Team Principal

“It’s great that we were able to take nine points from today’s MotoGP race and gain a place in the teams’ championship, which was something very positive today. It’s been emotional to see Valentino’s last dance in Italy and be part of his final home race. It was a difficult day for Dovizioso, but he did a good job to finish inside of the points today.

“We would like to congratulate Fabio on his World Championship title and we are very proud to have been part of his journey in the past two years. We’re also happy for Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP and Yamaha. I’m sure that Fabio will be a strong force in the years to come. We now have two more races to go and we are looking forward to getting more points in those final GPs.”