"Deep down I knew it'd happen" - Quartararo on MotoGP™ glory

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP's Fabio Quartararo was the star guest of the popular French TV show Clique on Sunday afternoon, with the 21-year-old opening up on his 2020 MotoGP™ World Championship performance during his appearance.

First, the factory Yamaha new-boy talked about his recent visit to Yamaha Motor Racing's HQ in Gerno di Lesmo, Italy. Whilst on his tour of the factory, he was shown the 2004 Yamaha M1 of Valentino Rossi, the machine with which the Italian secured the Japanese brand's first MotoGP™ title. "This is the first motorcycle I remember. That’s when I was like, I want to be a rider one day," stated the Frenchman.

He also touched on what it was like to share the podium with his idol Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) following his second career victory in the premier class at the Andalucian Grand Prix: "It’s so nice when he came over to congratulate me after my second victory. If I had been told that a few years ago, I wouldn't have believed it."

That victory came just seven days after his debut MotoGP™ win at the season-opening Spanish Grand Prix. An afternoon that he holds close to his heart, so much so he has had a tattoo of the winning moment, the rider from Nice explained what went through his head that day: "Winning a race straight away definitely freed me up. It was an exceptional moment that I had been waiting for since I was little. And then, once I crossed the line, there were a lot of emotions in the sense that no Frenchman had triumphed for over 20 years.

"Deep down inside though, I knew it was going to happen one day, given the way that I had worked. But three years ago, it didn't seem possible and I was in such a complicated moment in my career. Suddenly, I thought back to all the sacrifices made during my childhood to get there, the thousands of kilometres my father and I travelled between Nice and Spain when I slept on the floor of the truck while he was driving. These are the images that suddenly came to mind."

Now, the attention switches from winning races to winning titles. Ready to embark on a new chapter in his young career in the royal blue of the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP squad, the 21-year-old's answer was simple when asked where he sees himself in ten years time: "MotoGP World Champion."