Fabio Quartararo: No illusions about Yamaha and a strong desire for Honda

No illusions are possible with the current Yamaha; the 2021 champion eagerly awaits the switch to Honda: the test in Austria was promising.

Fabio Quartararo arrives at Motegi without great expectations. The Japanese Grand Prix, the 16th round of the MotoGP season, is Yamaha’s home race and will be the Frenchman’s last with the Iwata brand in front of the Japanese crowd before moving to Honda in 2027. He wouldn’t mind securing some good results at the Twin Ring, but he knows the M1 V4’s limits all too well and isn’t fooling himself.

The 2021 MotoGP champion made his approach clear when asked what might be possible this race weekend at Motegi: "I have no idea," reports Motosan, "I'll try to do my best, see if there’s good grip, and figure out whether we can do a great time attack. That’s still something I feel comfortable with on the bike, so my goal will be to try to get into Q2 on Friday. We’ve only managed it once in nine races, it’s going to be a big challenge."

The single-lap run remains a weapon at Quartararo’s disposal, but it’s not enough to deliver top-level sprint races and full-length GPs. At the Red Bull Ring he put his Yamaha ninth on the grid, only to finish twelfth on Saturday and seventeenth on Sunday.

The Frenchman still wants to do his best to start as far forward as possible, but he knows all the M1’s flaws can still emerge: "In Austria we saw that it doesn’t matter starting ninth," he explains, "because when the race is very long, our true position is much further back." Message received.

The Japanese track has been resurfaced, and a grippier surface could in theory lend the M1 a hand, but Quartararo prefers to wait: "Until you ride the bike, you can’t know what the asphalt is like. The most important thing is to see if it has good grip, that could help us."

The possibility of rain at Motegi isn’t seen by the Nice-born rider as a chance to score a better result than on a dry track: "Can the weather help? No. Whether it’s dry or wet, we’re still missing many factors that affect grip and everything else. That’s why it’ll be important to really understand the tires and try to see the difference with Austria, since the carcass is different."

In Austria, KTM celebrated Pedro Acosta’s win at their home grand prix, ending a four-year drought. For Yamaha it’s unthinkable to replicate anything similar in Japan; Quartararo is unequivocal: "We’re in a completely different situation. I don’t think—actually, I’m quite sure—it won’t go like it did for KTM at the last GP in Austria. Not even in terms of satisfaction."

KTM is operating at a much higher level than Yamaha, for whom a breakout result would be sensational. The Iwata manufacturer often struggles to stay in the top 10, so you can’t ask their riders to work miracles. They all need to try to get the most out of the technical package at their disposal.

His future is already set: from 2027 he will race for the Honda HRC team, hoping to fight for results worthy of his talent and ambition. The recent test at the Red Bull Ring gives the rider hope: "It takes a lot of patience," he told, "but in the last seven races I’ll try to give my all, and then a new chapter will begin. Even if it was only a test, the positive thing is that Honda was fast. It seems the bike works, and I’m really eager to be there."

Quartararo is confident he’s joined the right project for his MotoGP revival. Honda has worked hard on the 850cc prototype and the first appearances on track look promising, even if it’s far too early to make bold claims. The 2027 pre-season tests will be more telling.