MotoGP, Quartararo: “This winter I’ll visit the psychologist”

It’s been a season of highs and lows for Fabio Quartararo. Having started with two wins, the Frenchman then went on to finish seventh and even outside the points zone. Just missing out on the podium at the Emilia Romagna GP, he was back to winning ways in Catalunya, before sliding back down the standings in all subsequent races, an eighth- and a ninth-place finish his best results in the last six rounds. Any dreams of a title, something that seemed possible early on in the season, ultimately went up in smoke.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, his team-mate Franco Morbidelli rounded out the season in second place after turning a slow start into a string of successes as of the San Marino GP.

The BMW M Award: "At least I won something..."

Despite this, "El Diablo" did win something, a brand new BMW for being the rider who performed best in qualifying this season.

“It’s been a season of highs and lows, but at least I can say I won something. The car isn’t for me anyway, it’s a Christmas present for my dad”, comments Fabio Quartararo. “We talked about this car after every qualifying session, it’ll be a nice surprise for him. And then I’ll ask him if he can lend it to me for a couple of days”.

The BMW M Award was created in 2003, but since Marc Marquez came onto the MotoGP scene in 2013 it’s been his for the taking each year, the Spaniard having collected a BMW M6 Coupé, an MP4 Coupé, an M6 Spider, an M2 Coup*, an M4 CS, an M3 CS and an X4 M Competition last year.

In 2020, it was Fabio Quartararo who reigned, scoring four pole positions and a total of 225 points (assigned according to qualifying position). This year’s BMW prize was an M2 CS, complete with a 3-litre inline six engine capable of delivering 450 horsepower and torque of 550 Nm.  

"I need the help of a psychologist"

During the Portimao GP, the Yamaha Petronas rider stated that he needs rest, but also psychological help.

“I want to relax and take a break from the media and racing”, said Quartararo. “I need to disconnect 100% and spend some time with my family".

"Over the winter I need to really work on myself and will do so with the help of a psychologist. I realise I needed that already this year. I’ll go more often to learn to manage the emotions and stress of a race weekend”, adds Quartararo, aware that beyond his performance on the bike, something inside is not working. And next year he’ll have added responsibility, considering he’ll be riding the factory Yamaha in place of Valentino Rossi.

Translated by Heather Watson

MotoGP: Fabio Quartararo, the devil who flogged himself