Montmeló (Spain) (AFP) - MotoGP world champion Fabio Quartararo has signed a two-year extension on his contract with Yamaha which will keep him as a factory rider until 2025, the Japanese team announced on Thursday.
After learning his trade with the Yamaha-SRT satellite team, the 23-year-old Frenchman joined the official team in 2021, where he replaced legend Valentino Rossi and won the title.
"Quartararo has shown great skills, comradery, and consistency so far in his two years with the Yamaha factory racing team," the team said in a statement.
"The successful partnership led to his first MotoGP world championship title last year, in his very first season with the factory team."
Quartararo has collected six race wins and 14 podiums with the factory team in the 2021 and 2022 season so far, and scored three race wins and 10 podiums with the satellite team the two years before that.
He has had just one win, in Portugal, this season but is still currently leading the 2022 standings, eight points ahead of Aprilia's Aleix Espargaro.
"Yamaha believed in me from the very beginning, and that is something I do not take lightly," said the Frenchman.
"But that being said, this new agreement was a big decision.I'm at a great point in my career, so I took a bit more time taking this decision to be sure.
"I believe in the Yamaha MotoGP project, and I feel Yamaha are truly motivated."
