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INTERVIEW I MO T OGP WORLD C HAMPION FABIO QUAR TARARO P126 half a second faster than us. I stayed so calm. In the end we won the race. When you see that being calm brings you that kind of result, you want to keep like that." Coming back to our conversa- tion, he explained how this year those emotions have been kept under check. "It's something that I work on. It's difficult. I'm a guy that has a lot of emotions," he said. "On one side it's good, on the other, it's bad. At Aragon, I wanted to scream. But with self-control I tried to do my best. It was really not easy. It's a way for me to take experience and learn. It's a really good way to be more mature." And that has helped when Yamaha has undergone a turbu- lent year. Quartararo's success aside, the Iwata factory has had to deal with the fallout from Viñales' mid-season meltdown, Franco Morbidelli's repeated complaints of receiving outdated machinery as well as Valentino Rossi's terminal decline. Even when all this was going on, Fa- bio was unmoved. "It can be really easy to say the bike is not good because look at the other riders," he said. "But that's why I say I don't care. For me the bike is working really well. Then if the other riders don't get great results, it's not my problem. I'm working hard and I don't want to have some- thing in my head that says, 'You are P1 but the others are P16, 17 and 19.' Just because they make this, it doesn't mean the bike isn't good. I just keep my way and try not to lose it. That's why I'm always super focused." I Only Saw This Quality In Valentino Before… But how Fabio has carried himself in Yamaha's factory surroundings has played as big a role in his success. Stepping up to replace Valentino Rossi, 15 years in that team, would be an occasion that could overawe many a 21-year-old. But not here. Crew chief Diego Gubellini and data technician Pablo Guil- liem joined Quartararo in making the transition from the Petronas SRT squad and undoubtedly helped him settle. Jarvis was impressed by their capabilities. "They're really good," he said on Sunday evening. "It's not just that they're friends—they are re- ally good." And it wasn't just his technicians; close friend Tom Maubant has been by his side The new guard of MotoGP. Quartararo (right) may have won the title, but Bagnaia (left) had an exceptional end to the year with three wins from five starts.