Valentino Rossi: Quartararo couldn’t fight - Fabio: “sometimes I get scared…”

Quartararo looked on course to defend his 2021 MotoGP championship in the early stages of last year, building a 91-point lead in the MotoGP standings, until ceding the initiative and the title to Francesco Bagnaia on the final day.

Quartararo was representing the team synonymous with seven-time champion Rossi, while Bagnaia is the first VR46 graduate to win the premier class title.

"Pecco and Fabio proved to be the strongest, they are also the only ones, with Jorge Martín, who in qualifying chased the fastest lap without using any slipstream," said Rossi. 

"The Yamaha is always a good balanced bike, but now the difference compared to the Ducati in terms of engine power is very important. 

“It was difficult for Quartararo to fight like this."

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Quartararo ended the season nursing a finger injury and told Le Monde: "I'm not afraid when I'm on the bike, although sometimes I get scared when I lose grip at the front at almost 400 km/h. 

“I try not to think about it too much, because the fear of falling can make you lose hundredths of a second.

"At the beginning of the MotoGP season, as defending champion, I hoped to do better than the second. 

"But it was immediately clear that I couldn't compete on equal terms with the fastest Ducatis on the straight. 

“I had no margins of safety, I really drove to the limit all season. In these conditions, finishing behind Bagnaia can be considered a satisfactory result, even if I'm not satisfied."

Quartararo explained that Lewis Hamilton is his inspiration to recapture the championship in 2023: "Together with Valentino Rossi in motorcycling and Cristiano Ronaldo in football, he is one of the athletes that inspires me.

"In football I like Neymar and Sergio Ramos, who I knew in Spain, before they went to PSG. I feel good with Kylian Mbappé, we have a lot in common, the same age, we are demanding, we always try to perform. Like me, he's a fan of American basketball."