Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1418555
VOLUME 58 ISSUE 41 OCTOBER 12, 2021 P135 As well as maturity and vision, a champion, of course, also needs exceptional riding skill, as well. Quartararo has plenty. Look at the other Yamaha riders. Former teammate Vinales was so dis- combobulated that he went into meltdown without even finishing the season. Rossi's year proved so problematic and his results so distant that they finally triggered retirement. Even Morbidelli, second overall last year, was up against it, before injury spoiled his chances. Fabio has been racing since the age of four, and winning titles soon thereafter. He took two successive CEV titles (the Span- ish championship—now called Junior World Championship), and was drafted into GP racing aged just 15: the GP Commis- sion changed the rules to allow him in underage. Much was expected. Fabio, a couple of first-year podiums notwithstanding, failed to shine— partly through injury, partly in- comprehensibly. Up from Moto3 to Moto2 in 2017, he achieved just a single win in his second year. But it was enough, along with a dearth of other talent, to convince Yamaha and the all- new satellite Petronas team to slot him into MotoGP for 2019. The choice was something of a surprise, but their faith was handsomely vindicated. Fabio took to the big bike at once, scoring seven rookie podiums and mounting several impres- sive, if ultimately unsuccessful, challenges to Marquez. The start of 2020 promised even more, but after winning the first two races, Fabio went off the boil, badly, his challenge undermined by a string of erratic performances and disheart- ened responses. He dropped to eighth overall. Sessions with a sports psychi- atrist over the winter addressed this erratic temperament; another leap of faith saw him promoted to the factory team. And another obvious vindication. There remains just one burn- ing question: Is Fabio the herald of a new era of youthful domina- tion? Or is it just a continuation of the enforced interregnum, while Marc Marquez regains full strength? Sentiment prefers the former, especially since the late-bloom- ing Bagnaia will be ready to make it at least a two-man show. Or more. There are others to suggest that that the crown will be hard-fought next year. Rookies Martin and Bastianini are already showing precocious strength. The likes of Miller, Binder, Mir and Oliveira have masses of class. And don't forget Vinales… Maverick on a mission on the much-improved Aprilia. But Sunday in Texas was a humbling experience for all of them. Marquez is still not at full phys- ical strength—the after-effects of his broken right arm lingering on cruelly. The same is true of his Honda RC213V, with development stalled in his absence. The oth- ers riding the once-dominant V4 in Texas once again proved the point: Nakagami fast but crashed, Espargaro and Alex Marquez a distant tenth and 12th. But the six-time MotoGP champion was peerless. Incom- parable. Unbeatable. Again. When the racing starts next year, probable defending cham- pion Quartararo will not be the man to beat. It will once again be Marquez. Just like every other year from 2013 through until his injury at the start of 2020. The more things change, the more they stay the same. CN Even his bad days have been good. This underlines his race craft, as well as an ability to see the big picture.