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