Fabio Quartararo is the first French premier class champion after winning the MotoGP title with Yamaha in 2021, so here is everything that you need to know about the rider.
France has long had a rich history in motorcycle racing but never saw one of its own win the top prize before Quartararo conquered MotoGP aboard his Yamaha YZR-M1. He beat Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia to the 2021 championship by 26 points in his third year on the grid.
Quartararo graduated to MotoGP with Petronas Yamaha SRT in 2019 when few thought the Frenchman deserved to race in the premier class. His two years in Moto2 had hardly set the world alright. But Quartararo proved all of his doubters wrong to be the top MotoGP rookie.
Fabio Quartararo is France’s first MotoGP champion after winning the 2021 title with Yamaha
Petronas Yamaha SRT surprised many by promoting Quartararo soon after recording his first and only race win in Moto2 at the 2018 Grand Prix of Catalunya. He never won a race across two terms in Moto3, either, with a best finish of 10th place in the championships’ standings.
Yet it did not take Quartararo long to show those who had questioned Petronas Yamaha SRT were wrong. Through the first nine rounds of his rookie campaign, Quartararo secured three pole positions, a P2 finish in Barcelona plus third at the Dutch TT and he set two fastest laps.
Quartararo also finished his rookie campaign with four P2 finishes in the final seven races of 2019. His second year in MotoGP then yielded a maiden race victory at the season-opening Grand Prix of Spain, and Quartararo even went back-to-back with two wins at Jerez to start.
Proving Petronas Yamaha SRT made no mistake further secured Quartararo a promotion to the factory Yamaha team in 2021, replacing MotoGP icon Valentino Rossi in a straight swap. It further saw Quartararo go on and hand Yamaha their first MotoGP riders’ title since 2015.
A dominant run in the first two-thirds of the season saw Quartararo become the first French premier class motorcycle world champion with the 2021 MotoGP title. He won five races in the opening 12 rounds, took a further three podiums and never finished outside the points.
Only when Quartararo retired from the Algarve Grand Prix in the penultimate round did he fail to score points en route to the 2021 MotoGP title. The Frenchman almost won back-to-back MotoGP titles, too, after finishing second behind Bagnaia by 17 points for the 2022 crown.
But who really is Quartararo and what is the Yamaha rider’s life outside of the MotoGP grid like? Full Oversteer takes a look into everything that you need to know about Quartararo…
Who is Yamaha rider Fabio Quartararo?
Fabio Quartararo is a French motorcycle racer currently competing with Yamaha in MotoGP. He started riding bikes at just four years old and Quartararo moved to Spain to start his rise to the premier class of the world championship aged just seven in the Promovelocidad Cup.
Through eight seasons in Spain’s junior championships, Quartararo even won five titles and earned the nickname El Diablo from his fellow riders after back-to-back titles in the Spanish 80cc and Pre-Moto3 series. Quartararo even won the 2013 Spanish Moto3 title as a rookie.
A second Spanish Moto3 title also awaited Quartararo in 2014 after becoming the youngest rider to win the championship at the time in 2013 at 14 years and 217 days. His second title was also even more dominant than the first by winning nine of the 11 races that campaign.
How old is Fabio Quartararo? When was he born?
At the time of writing, Fabio Quartararo is 25 years old and he was born on April 20, 1999.
Where was Fabio Quartararo born? What is his nationality?
Fabio Quartararo was born in Nice and grew up in his native France before moving to Spain with his family aged seven. Nice had a population of 343,000 in March 1999 just before the MotoGP star was born, and it has continued to boast a similar number of residents to date.
Fabio Quartararo is the son of 1983 French 125cc champion Etienne Quartararo
Motorcycle racing is in Fabio Quartararo’s blood as his father, Etienne Quartararo, won the 1983 French 125cc championship. His dad also competed in the French 250cc class in 1986 and even battled for the Bol d’Or – an annual 24-hour motorcycle endurance race in France.
Along with racing bikes, Etienne was also a locksmith while Quartararo’s mum, Martine, is a hairdresser. Fabio also has friends from an array of sporting disciplines, including Formula 1 drivers Daniel Ricciardo, Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly plus tennis talent Emma Raducanu.
How tall is Fabio Quartararo? What is his height in feet?
Standing at a height of 1.77 metres tall, Fabio Quartararo measures in at 5 ft 9 in feet.
Fabio Quartararo’s net worth
No reputable publication currently cites an up-to-date valuation for Fabio Quartararo’s net worth. But online estimates place his net worth in the region of £4m, although Quartararo signing an improved contract with Yamaha in April 2024 saw his wage rise to £10m a year.
Why Fabio Quartararo chose 20 as his permanent MotoGP race number
Fabio Quartararo has almost always raced with the No20 plate on his bike since debuting in the world championship in the 2015 Moto3 season. The only time the Frenchman has used a different number on his bike was for the 2017 Moto2 season when Quartararo adopted 40.
Sticking with the 20 plate as his permanent race number in MotoGP is Quartararo’s goal, as well, as he has always found it special since first starting out riding a bike as a four-year-old.
“We will not see this number because I started with the number 20 and I feel like I’m not number one,” Quartararo said about adopting the No1 plate as the MotoGP champion for 2022. “So, I will keep going with the number 20 until the end of my career because it’s the number that really made me want to start when I was four and it’s a really special number.”
Fabio Quartararo earned the nickname El Diablo from his rival riders
A rider’s nickname is a big part of their identity in motorcycle racing and Fabio Quartararo earned his of El Diablo in the Spanish junior championships after wearing a helmet paying tribute to Roberto Locatelli, and the design happened to feature a sticker of a devil on it.
What’s been said about Fabio Quartararo? Is he any good?
Fabio Quartararo began to draw comparisons to MotoGP legend Marc Marquez whilst still a teenager given his dominance of the junior championships in Spain. From an early age, the Frenchman also had a strict, dedicated training regime to be as physically ready as possible.
Delivering impressive race wins for Petronas Yamaha SRT then left Yamaha with little choice but to promote Quartararo into the factory line-up. Lin Jarvis, Yamaha’s long-time managing director, was also full of praise for the emerging star before Quartararo’s promotion in 2021.
“His results in his MotoGP debut year were sensational,” Jarvis said in 2020. “His six pole positions and the seven podiums in the 2019 season were a clear sign of his brilliance and exceptional riding skills. Inviting him to move up to Yamaha was a logical next step.”
Jarvis would often offer Quartararo praise and drew comparisons between the Frenchman, Marquez and Valentino Rossi in 2023. He told Crash.net: “There are always extraordinary and exceptional talents and I would just say that Fabio is definitely one…
“I would say Fabio’s great on the bike and also off the bike. Off the bike, we must not forget. Some riders have the ability to get a group around them to gel and to work together as a team and to make things happen.
“Rossi is a great example of that and also Marquez, in my opinion. If you look at Marc’s group within HRC, they’re really close and really tight. And definitely, Fabio has that… So, it’s working towards the common goal and then using his unique riding skills.”
Fabio Quartararo’s Grand Prix career racing stats
Fabio Quartararo enjoyed a sensational rise through the junior championships but struggled to turn his potential into performances on the world championship stage before debuting in MotoGP, where the Frenchman proved any doubters wrong to become a champion in 2021.
2013 FIM CEV Moto3 Junior World Championship: 8 races, 3 wins, 4 podiums, three poles, 1 title
2014 FIM CEV Moto3 Junior World Championship: 11 races, 9 wins, 11 podiums, six poles, 1 title
2015 Moto3: 13 races, 0 wins, 2 podiums, 2 pole positions
2016 Moto3: 18 races, 0 wins, 0 podiums, 0 pole positions
2017 Moto2: 18 races, 0 wins, 0 podiums, 0 pole positions
2018 Moto2: 18 races, 1 win, 2 podiums, 1 pole position
2019 MotoGP: 19 races, 0 wins, 7 podiums, 6 pole positions
2020 MotoGP: 14 races, 3 wins, 3 podiums, 4 pole positions
2021 MotoGP: 18 races, 5 wins, 10 podiums, 5 pole positions, 1 title
2022 MotoGP: 20 races, 3 wins, 8 podiums, 1 pole position
2023 MotoGP: 20 races, 0 wins, 3 podiums, 0 pole positions
2024 MotoGP: 20 races, 0 wins, 0 podiums, 0 pole positions