Discover five facts about Fabio Quartararo, the reigning MotoGP champion, whose 2022 season begins this weekend in Qatar.

Defending champion, he nevertheless keeps the number 20
If, in F1, Max Verstappen has chosen to trade his n°33 against the n°1, the MotoGP world champion has decided to remain faithful to the n°20, who has followed him almost continuously since the start of his career. . Born on April 20, 1999, Fabio Quartararo has almost always worn the number 20, except in Moto2 in 2017 with the team of Sito Pons, because of a sponsor.

“ It's the number I started with and will end my career with. I am far from number one today , he said to justify his choice. There are a lot of people. The example is Valentino Rossi: he won nine times and never chose to wear 1.A disturbing anecdote, the drivers of the 21st century who took the No. 1 after winning the title did not manage to keep it (Nicky Hayden, Casey Stoner, Jorge Lorenzo).

"El Diablo", a nickname that comes from afar
If Fabio Quartararo has been nicknamed "El Diablo" for many years in the paddock, it is because of a replica of a drawing by driver Roberto Locatelli on the Frenchman's helmet. " It came the year of a Youth Championship, I was seven years old ," he said in an interview with L'Equipe Magazine last February. We were 50 pilots and one of them was especially strong. He called me that. And then we all met to play football in particular and it spread: three, four, 15 pilots called me "El Diablo". It's pretty cool to have this image. A

nickname that suits him, but especially on the bike: “ In everyday life,»

He was trained in Spain
Born in Nice, where he spent the first 13 years of his life, Fabio Quartararo nevertheless quickly migrated to Spain to compete there. Too strong for the French Championships, he had to make many round trips to Spain with his father to find opponents of his size, from the age of seven. " It was at least 1,200 km round trip ," he told AFP in February 2021. These are the best memories, it was fun, we weren't thinking of anything else. I would go play with my friends, when it was time to ride a motorcycle, I would ride a motorcycle. There was no stress, it was pure fun. »

At 13, to shape a professional career, he had to leave home and settle in Spain, with his then manager, near Alicante. He joined the Spanish Championship (CEV) full-time, with great success (champion in Moto3 in 2013 and 2014) before moving to the World Championship in 2015, at the age of 15.

This is his last year of contract with Yamaha
Arrived in MotoGP in 2019, at Yamaha, within the Petronas SRT satellite team, Fabio Quartararo was promoted in 2021 within the official team, following a contract finalized in the winter of 2019-2020. This contract expires at the end of this season, and the question of its extension therefore arises.

Worried about the development of the 2022 bike, the Frenchman had refused to sign anything before the first pre-season tests in Malaysia in early February. “ I want to see the evolution of our bike. I find that normal, already. I don't find it normal to sign for 2023 without having started 2022 ," he said at the time. Not sure that the tests frankly reassured him.

Very close to Yamaha (" I don't consider it a team, but a family "), the Frenchman is nevertheless aware of his value, on a motorcycle and in euros, and if he would undoubtedly like to continue his career with the Japanese brand, he will only do so on the handlebars of a motorcycle which allows him to play the leading roles.
https://the-batman-film-francais.tumblr.com/

https://the-batman-full-hd.tumblr.com/

https://the-batman-online-4khd.tumblr.com/

Inspired by Rossi, Ronaldo and... Mbappé
A motorbike fan from an early age, Quartararo logically has as a model the greatest champion in the history of his sport: Valentino Rossi. " It's the artist... sorry the sportsman... who marked me the most ," the Frenchman recently declared in L'Equipe Magazine . The first race I remember was with him in 2005. I was six years old. "But the world champion also admits his admiration for other spots like Cristiano Ronaldo ("the greatest athlete on the planet) or Kylian Mbappé. " I think we can take an example from every athlete ," he sums up. he.