Fabio Quartararo reveals MotoGP moment that felt better than 2021 title

Fabio Quartararo believes his maiden MotoGP pole position at the 2019 Spanish Grand Prix was the most enjoyable moment of his career, even surpassing his 2021 world championship success.

Expectations were high for Quartararo when he burst onto the MotoGP scene just before his 20th birthday, riding a satellite Yamaha M1 for Petronas SRT (now Trackhouse Aprilia).

The Frenchman largely lived up to the promise in 2019, scoring six pole positions and seven podiums to end the year fifth in the standings, two spots ahead of factory Yamaha rider and MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi.

Quartararo went on to replace Rossi in the works Yamaha team in 2021 and won the world championship straight away, defeating Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia in a closely fought duel.

While his 2021 success remains special to him, Quartararo explained that his pole at Jerez in 2019 stands out as his most cherished memory, largely due to the lack of pressure he felt during his rookie campaign.

Asked to name his best memory aboard the current-generation M1, the 26-year-old said: “I would say my pole position in Jerez in 2019. I would say I enjoyed it even better than my world championship year. 

“Because [if] you crash, it doesn’t matter — you are learning. [If] you finish in the top 10, you can do better next time. You finish in the top five, it’s amazing. You finish on the podium, it’s amazing. It doesn’t matter the result, you always find something.

“It was the year where the pressure was completely zero, and it’s the year that I enjoyed the most.”

Quartararo’s title-winning campaign in 2021 established him as one of the series’ frontrunners and asserted his status as Yamaha’s next big star following Rossi’s retirement.

However, he rejected the idea that his championship success increased pressure on him, instead explaining why the season itself felt less enjoyable than many might assume.

“You don’t really feel more pressure,” he explained. “But in the 2021 season, you finish fourth and you are disappointed. You don’t like to finish fourth, it’s a bad result.

“But in the first year, you never know what to expect from the first race, from the next race, and this was the positive. You went there just to give your best, and if your best was second, it was amazing. If [it was] P5, it was amazing. P10, you have something to learn. If you crash, it’s an experience. This is the difference.”

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— The Motorsport.com Team