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 lie 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.
Fabio Quartararo – Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP, 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."
GP Nolan Del Made in Italy e Dell'Emilia-Romagna GP Race Results:
- Marc Marquez - Repsol Honda Team
- Pol Espargaro - Repsol Honda Team +4.859
- Enea Bastianini - Avintia Esponsorama +12.013
- Fabio Quartararo - Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP +12.775
- Johann Zarco - Pramac Racing +16.458
- Alex Rins - Team SUZUKI ECSTAR +17.669
- Aleix Espargaro - Aprilia Racing Team Gresini +18.468
- Maverick Viñales - Aprilia Racing Team Gresini +18.607
- Luca Marini - SKY VR46 Avintia +25.417
- Valentino Rossi - PETRONAS Yamaha SRT + 27.735
- Brad Binder - Red Bull KTM Factory Racing + 27.879
- Michele Pirro - Ducati Lenovo Team + 28.137
- Andrea Dovizioso - PETRONAS Yamaha SRT +41.413
- Franco Morbidelli - Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP + 42.830
- Takaaki Nakagami - LCR Honda IDEMITSU + 1'22.462
2021 MotoGP World Championship Standings
- Fabio Quartararo - Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP 267 points
- Francesco Bagnaia – Ducati Lenovo Team 202 points
- Joan Mir – Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 175 points
- Johann Zarco – Pramac Racing 152 points
- Jack Miller – Ducati Lenovo Team 149 points
- Marc Marquez – Repsol Honda Team 142 points
- Brad Binder – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 136 points
- Aleix Espargaro – Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 113 points
- Maverick Viñales – Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 106 points
- Miguel Oliveira – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 92 points
- Alex Rins – Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 91 points
- Pol Espargaro – Repsol Honda Team 90 points
- Enea Bastianini – Avintia Esponsorama 87 points
- Jorge Martin – Pramac Racing 82 points
- Takaaki Nakagami – LCR Honda IDEMITSU 71 points
- Alex Marquez - LCR Honda CASTROL 54 points
- Franco Morbidelli – Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP 42 points
- Iker Lecuona – Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing 38 points
- Danilo Petrucci - Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing 37 points
- Luca Marini – SKY VR46 Avintia 37 points
- Valentino Rossi – PETRONAS Yamaha SRT 35 points
- Stefan Bradl – Honda HRC 13 points
- Michele Pirro – Ducati Lenovo Team 12 points
- Dani Pedrosa – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 6 points
- Andrea Dovizioso – PETRONAS Yamaha SRT 6 points
- Lorenzo Savadori – Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 4 points
- Tito Rabat – Pramac Racing 1 point
- Cal Crutchlow – Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP 0 points
- Garrett Gerloff – PETRONAS Yamaha SRT 0 points
- Jake Dixon – PETRONAS Yamaha SRT 0 points
