The Frenchman won six junior road racing titles in Spain, beginning with the 50cc class in 2008 at the age of nine before taking his first of two FIM CEV Moto3 championships as the series' youngest ever champion. Quartararo has become France's first MotoGP champion. Quartararo was trying to limit the damage his Italian rival looked set to inflict on his championship lead.īut he could enjoy the final three laps of the race once he learned Bagnaia had thrown away the race win. It is a decision that will be questioned after both riders lost their bikes in the same fashion. Quartararo's chances to secure the title at Imola were slim, with Bagnaia starting on pole and he starting 15th, his worst qualifying in the premier class.ĭucati made a late decision before the race to put hard front tyres on Bagnaia and Miller's bikes. "Right now, I am living the dream and it feels good." I can't even talk, it feels amazing," he said. Márquez went on to win the race, his second in a row, while Quartararo produced a brilliant ride from 15th on the grid to finish fourth.Īn emotional Quartararo said after the race he was struggling to comprehend he had become champion.
The Petronas Yamaha SRT Team have already shown huge progression since debuting in MotoGP, and target even more success in 2021.The Yamaha rider entered Sunday's race with a 52-point lead over Italian Francesco "Pecco" Bagnaia, with an outside chance of wrapping up his maiden title.īagnaia looked certain to cut into Quartararo's lead when he led Sunday's race from pole and was pulling away from Marc Márquez with five laps to go.īut the Ducati rider lost control of his bike while heading into turn 15 at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli in Italy.īagnaia's crash was almost identical to his teammate, Australian Jack Miller, who crashed at turn 15 on lap four while in second. Nine-time Grand Prix World Champion and one motorcycle racing's greatest riders, Valentino Rossi, will join the team in 2021, partnering Franco Morbidelli. The Petronas Yamaha SRT Team enjoyed a maiden victory at the Jerez opener with Quartararo, and the team would celebrate five more wins, with Morbidelli scoring three and finishing second in the championship. In 2020, the team retained its rider line up and switched to the new 2020-spec YZR-M1. The season was a remarkable and surprising debut for the team, taking six poles and seven podiums courtesy of young star Quartararo and securing the Independent Team Rider’s title. The team was represented by two young motivated riders, Franco Morbidelli and Fabio Quartararo, both riders contesting on board Yamaha YZR-M1s following an agreement between Sepang International Circuit and Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. The SIC Racing Team structure expanded in 2019, joining the MotoGP World Championship as a Yamaha satellite team and giving Malaysia a team in the premier class for the first time in history. The Malaysian structure took another step forward with a move up to the Moto2 World Championship in the 2018 season. The SIC Racing Team had a presence in various championships such as the FIM CEV and the MotoGP World Championship (in the 125cc and Moto3 classes), with three podium finishes in Moto3 between 20 as results of particular note.
The structure was created with the aim of promoting young Malaysian riders and giving them a platform to develop their full potential. The SIC Racing Team project took its first steps in 2010 with the support of the Sepang International Circuit, a track that has been part of the MotoGP World Championship calendar since 1999.