It’s been a long time coming, but finally Fabio Quartararo is a MotoGP race winner. It’s no huge surprise that he managed to accomplish the feat at the opening race of the 2020 season in Jerez on Sunday, after a stellar performance there 12 months ago and a lot of development since.
The Frenchman looked almost sublime in Sunday’s race. Bringing a maturity beyond his 21 years since he first smashed into the championship last season, he’s consistently been on the verge of a race win since.
So what changed on Sunday? A number of factors have played into his favour since this time compared to last year, and the end result is that the Petronas Yamaha rider is now a much more complete package than he was even a few months ago.
Foremost among those is experience and wisdom. Able to use raw talent and speed last year to engage with dominant reigning champion Marc Marquez, Quartararo nonetheless couldn’t quite get the best of the Repsol Honda rider in their numerous last corner duels.
But every single one of those encounters taught Quartararo something. He seems to be like a sponge for new information, and he’s put every lesson that Marquez has taught him into practice since – something that the eight-time world champion might rue as time goes on.
Quartararo is also on a better bike this year than he was last year. He started the 2019 season on lower specification machinery to then-number one ranked teammate Franco Morbidelli, and though the upgrades came quickly throughout the season, it still meant something of a disadvantage to the other Yamaha riders on the grid.
Of course, his 2020 machine isn’t just as good as Morbidelli’s – it’s the twin of factory riders Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi. An early perk of his 2021 factory Yamaha deal, he’s already been fast-tracked onto the best bikes the Iwata factory can build.
The final piece of his improved package for 2020 is Michelin’s new rear tyre. Delivering more corner grip and allowing the M1 machines to make the most out of their high corner speed riding style, it’s finally tipped the balance back in favour of the inline four cylinder machines after a few years of the V4 bikes having an advantage.
So now that Quartararo has tasted the podium champagne, what does it mean for his future? There’s an argument that the best possible thing that could have happened to the Frenchman is a second race this weekend at the same circuit, with a chance to do it all over again.
There’s a recurring trend in superbike racing (with multiple races in the same day) where a first-time winner will manage to pull off the double. Quartararo now has a unique advantage, with MotoGP’s first ever back-to-back race, and will no doubt be out to capitalise on his form.
Does that mean he’s a 2020 title contender? Without doubt. He showed on Sunday that he can beat the best in the field, overtaking Vinales with ease and riding away from Andrea Dovizioso.
He showed last season that he’s got the pace to be a consistent podium finisher, he’s smart enough to cope with the pressure of a title campaign, and he’s surrounded by a team prepared to do whatever it takes.
However, there’s still one question that remains to be answered about Quartararo’s form. We were denied the chance on Sunday to see him once again go head to head against Marc Marquez when Marquez’s huge moment at Turn 4 took him out of the battle for the lead.
Would Quartararo have been able to beat the Honda rider in a straight fight? Marquez’s pace as he hammered back through the field after running into the gravel would suggest otherwise, as he put on an incredible show of force to leave most of the grid in his wake – up until it all went wrong.
So while he might now be the title favourite amid Marquez’s injury, there’s going to remain one question mark about Quartararo until we see him square off against a fully fit champion on track. Let’s hope we don’t have too long to wait!
