#MotoGP, Fabio Quartararo: “I cannot believe I will replace Valentino Rossi”
Fabio Quartararo will ride the Factory Yamaha on 2021, replacing Valentino Rossi: a dream come true for the French, 2019 MotoGP Rookie of the Year, who cannot believe what is happening
Fabio Quartararo recently posted an old photo of himself alongside Valentino Rossi, when a still kid Fabio waited a lot for a photo in the paddock with the 9-Time World Champion. Looking at it thinking at what is happening now seems incredible, as Quartararo will replace Valentino Rossi on 2021 in the Factory Yamaha to be future Maverick Vinales’ teammate.
Frenchman 2019 MotoGP Rookie of the Year conquered this opportunity thanks to the astonishing results he achieved last season, where he scored a lot of pole positions and fought for the win a lot of times against Marc Marquez in the new Petronas Yamaha team.
Fabio was also impressively fast once again during MotoGP preseason tests, but the ongoing Coronavirus emergency delayed the beginning of the championship, who could now be set for 19th July at Jerez de la Frontera.
So, Quartararo is confined at home as everyone during his quarantine: “I will be happy if we could do a race every day from now until December! I stayed at home for too much, but I have to do it. I respect the rules, I am training at home, when we could go out I will keep safe distancy”.
During an interview with WithU, Fabio expressed how impatient is to start the season: “I felt really good with the bike during preseason tests, I had only 5 days to try the 2020 bike, while factory riders already tried it in Misano. I am happy with what we have, I cannot wait to start!”.
There were a lot of rumors concerning his future, especially regarding Ducati: “I will be happy to try all the bikes, but I will do it just to improve Yamaha. Maybe one of the most impressive things of Ducati is their speed, they did another step forward in that direction this year!”
Surely Fabio could not talk about Valentino Rossi: “Vale motivated me since I was a child: I was happy to see him winning, it was like I won too! Honestly, I cannot believe I will “replace” him next year. I hope to have more love than hate from Italian fans and that Vale will continue his MotoGP journey in Petronas. I will be happy even if Valentino would ride until he will be 65 years old!”
