Former MotoGP champion Fabio Quartararo is ready for 2022 to end already. After securing his first Premier Class title in 2021, El Diablo knew that retaining the crown in 2022 would be a dogfight. Unfortunately, the Frenchman would come up short, relinquishing the Riders Championship to Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia in the season finale at the Valencia Grand Prix.
Along with the insult of squandering a 91-point lead, Quartararo suffered several injuries throughout the latter half of the year. Following a collision with eight-time World Champion Marc Marquez at the 2022 Aragon Grand, the 23-year-old rider’s Alpinestars race suit ripped open as he slid across the tarmac. The resulting road rash on Quartararo’s chest and belly remained in sight for the remainder of the season.
Several rounds later, at the 2022 Malaysian Grand Prix, number 20 incurred yet another minor injury after a Free Practice 4 crash. While the Yamaha rider fractured the base of his left middle finger in the incident, he returned the next day to claim a podium finish and keep his championship hopes alive.
Following the 2022 season, Quartararo returned home for some much-need rest and recovery. Neither would last long, however, as the 2021 MotoGP Champion sustained yet another injury during motocross training.
“Yesterday I had a crash during my motocross training and I suffer a little fracture on my left hand,” Quartararo explained in an Instagram post. “No surgery needed, time to recover.”
Fortunately, the Frenchman has time on his side. With the first 2023 MotoGP pre-season test taking place at Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit on February 10-12, 2023, El Diablo can lick his wounds for the next few months. Hopefully, his health, and most importantly, his luck will return by then, helping him mount a retaliatory campaign in 2023.
