FABIO QUARTARARO SAYS YAMAHA MEETING HAS SETTLED ARAGON TENSIONS

Fabio Quartararo says the tense fallout between himself and Yamaha after the Aragon MotoGP round has been addressed through a direct, “clear-the-air” meeting. Speaking ahead of the San Marino Grand Prix on Thursday, the 2021 world champion insisted the situation is now calm, telling reporters: “No, I think it’s not about regret or not.” He added that, while his frustration may have led him to say things that “maybe weren’t right,” the pair sat down together and resolved the matter. “We got a meeting together, everything was sorted out, and everything is pretty normal.”

The dispute originally flared after Quartararo’s comments to French media in which he said he would no longer help Yamaha develop its motorcycle. In Crash.net’s account, he linked that “personal” decision to Yamaha’s refusal to let him take part in the Pirelli tyre test scheduled for the Monday after the Austrian Grand Prix. Yamaha later responded publicly, with team manager Massimo Meregalli urging Quartararo to “behave more like Jack Miller,” in an interview with L’Equipe.

Crash.net reports that Meregalli confirmed the factory held a meeting with Quartararo to defuse tensions following Aragon. Meregalli said Quartararo “understood the weight of his words after Aragon GP,” adding: “We clarified everything yesterday when he arrived,” and stressing that the priority now is to “work in the most professional way until the end of the year.” He also insisted the team is focused on the remaining races: “For us, what happened in Aragon is already part of the past, and we are really focused to try to just maximise what we can do from here to the end of the season.”

While Quartararo believes the atmosphere has improved, he says Yamaha has not reversed its decision regarding the Pirelli testing. He acknowledged that his competitive temperament can push him to react too strongly at times, explaining that his “frustrations are maybe too high” when results don’t match what he wants. “You never get used to having difficult moments,” he said, before describing how dissatisfaction persists when the bike package is not where he believes it should be. “And the frustration is, of course, always there when you are not achieving what you want.”

Quartararo also framed his emotions as part of why he still cares about racing. “It doesn’t matter if we know that our package at the moment is not at the level we want,” he said, adding that he cannot simply switch off. “So, you don’t get used to it. I’m competitive; I want to fight.” He continued: “So, if I really didn’t care, I wouldn’t be enjoying it, and I wouldn’t want to race anymore.”

Concluding his explanation, Quartararo said the key is timing and communication rather than the underlying frustration: “So, this is why sometimes my frustration is maybe too high. But, I need just to say the good words in the correct moment.”

Meregalli also explained Yamaha’s reasoning for not allowing Quartararo to join the Austrian Pirelli test. He said: “About the test in Austria, I think we were available to let our departing rider test the Pirellis if everybody were going to do that. At the end, it’s not like this, and we fixed our plan in a different way.”

Crash.net further notes that Yamaha is expected to field next year’s Pramac line-up of Toprak Razgatlioglu and rookie Izan Guevara during the second 850cc/Pirelli test for MotoGP race riders. It adds that, like Quartararo, Yamaha’s new factory team riders Jorge Martin and Ai Ogura—both currently at Aprilia—are expected to miss the test. Quartararo, who finished last at Aragon, was ninth fastest and the top Yamaha during FP1 at Misano.