New MotoGP world champion Fabio Quartararo has credited Yamaha for their improved 2021 package, despite it lacking horsepower compared to other manufacturers.
Yamaha endured a massively frustrating end to 2020 despite taking second in the championship with Franco Morbidelli.
Early season promise from Quartararo in particular had the team looking like potential champions before losing their way.
However, significant steps were made by the Japanese manufacturer this season in order to allow Quartararo to make up for any deficiencies it has and therefore clinch a world title.
In fact, the exact issues that cost Quartararo last year’s title turned into his biggest strengths in 2021 – front end feeling, braking, turning and as we saw on Sunday, being able to overtake – something all Yamaha riders previously struggled with.
And while the factors mentioned above all played a huge role, Quartararo alluded to the ‘front end feeling’ being the main improvement relative to 2019 and 2020, a feeling that made him feel ‘at one’ throughout the season.
“To be honest, last year we fought to have the factory bike but with the Covid situation and everything, the 19 bike was better,” said Quartararo.
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“With the 2021 (bike) I felt much better and the feeling on the front is what made me I think win.
“We know that power is something we need to work on, but the feeling I had to overtake on the brakes; not this race, but in general, has been much higher than 19 and 20.
“Yamaha has worked a lot. We still have a lot to improve for next year because we know power is something so important. But right now, with the bike I was feeling at one.”
Although Quartararo looked unflustered for much of the year, something that could not be said about him last year, the Frenchman believes the experience he went through was just as vital to his maiden title as the equipment he had underneath him.
Quartararo added: “Just before the race I was with Tom [Maubant] (best friend and personal assistant) and I was nervous, I was feeling stressed.
“But he said ‘just think about the last three races of last year’ which were a total disaster. I remember just wanting to finish the championship at whatever the position was.
“Today I started the race which made me world champion. I think everything that happened last year helped me a lot to win the title today.
“Thanks to all these people for supporting me at this moment and I think I learned a lot during these two years in MotoGP, but I still have a lot to learn to achieve more results like that.”
Quartararo’s championship win last Sunday at Misano marks his first as a MotoGP rider, the first ever for a French rider in the premier class and Yamaha’s first since Jorge Lorenzo in 2015.
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