The doors of the palace are wide open to welcome the new king, and Fabio will only have to make his choice for 2021 between the official Honda, Yamaha, Ducati and Suzuki teams. KTM and Aprilia still have their competitiveness to prove. Racing for a factory team is much better than for a satellite team, that's obvious. Obvious ? Not so sure. Let's see why here.
The official teams have large financial resources, with the support of huge companies. But let's compare the turnover of the companies concerned by the top in MotoGP:
Annual turnover:
Honda: 143,3 billion US dollars
Yamaha Motor: 12,3 billion US dollars (Yamaha Corporation is separated)
Ducati: 731 million euros (belongs to the Volkswagen Group: 235,8 billion euros)
Suzuki: 35,1 billion US dollars
Petronas: 62,2 billion US dollars
In this area, Quartararo's current team is largely as well endowed as the others. There is no shortage of means, which is always positive for having good equipment, comfortable working conditions and a big salary.
Team leadership:
From Luigi Dall'Igna to Massimo Meregalli, including Shinichi Sahara and Davide Brivio, Tetsuhiro Kuwata and Alberto Puig, the four factory teams have very competent people at their helm. But in this area the Petronas Yamaha SRT team is not left out with Razlan Razali (Ahmad Razlan Ahmad Razali) who is passionate about motorcycle competition and who perfectly manages this team which is owned by the Sepang Circuit (of which he is the director), which itself officially belongs to the Malaysian Ministry of Finance, therefore to the Government.
The team manager is former driver Johan Stigefelt, who in 2005 created his Stiggy Racing team, then several others including the Caterham Moto Racing Team which in 2014 had Johann Zarco racing in Moto2. The Swede is a competent and experienced man, as is the driver manager, the former Dutch rider Wilco Zeelenberg. He carried out this activity within the official Yamaha team. More precisely with Jorge Lorenzo because Valentino Rossi did not need anyone's advice. Part of the success of Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli can be attributed to the helpful assistance of Wilco Zeelenberg. Note that not all teams have such an effective man in this area. Fabio's results prove it, because let's not forget that he is a rookie in a team that debuted in the MotoGP category at the start of this year.
Factory requirements:
If Fabio wants an improvement on his bike by being part of a factory team, he risks waiting a long time, like Rossi and Viñales this year. The response from the factory is generally quite summary, like: “you pilot and we take care of the motorcycles. » A satellite team has a ready answer: “ We pay for the motorcycles and we demand an improvement. And if you don't like it, we can always buy our motorcycles for Quartararo from another manufacturer, who will be delighted. » It's said a little bluntly, but the meaning is there.
Popular support:
It is important for a driver to have a lot of fans, because it increases his market value. Popularity does not only depend on results, but also on charisma, availability to spectators, respect for the environment and the image in general, both sporting and human.
The motorcycle racing enthusiast base is currently gigantic in Southeast Asia compared to elsewhere in the world. 5 million motorized two-wheelers are sold each year in Indonesia alone, compared to, for example, 138 last year in Spain. Riding for a Malaysian team is therefore 030% beneficial for El Diablo.
The Yamaha advantage:
Having a motorcycle that you feel good on and perform well with is very important. Sometimes it is better to avoid changing brands, as Jorge Lorenzo and Johann Zarco have observed. Quartararo hasn't always had what suited him best, even though teams like Honda Estrella Galicia and Leopard Racing have excellent reputations in Moto3, as do Sito Pons and Speed Up in Moto2. Rossi, for example, was very happy to return to Yam.
The Honda risk:
Having the world champion bike in the Repsol Honda team would a priori be royal, but being Marc Márquez's teammate, on a bike developed for him and that he knows by heart, would that be a good idea?
On the other hand, the Honda mentality has not only made people happy, and some like Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards slammed the door, considering themselves treated like any employee of the company, and not as a champion or star driver. The ego also sometimes has its importance.
A dedicated team:
Having a team at your disposal is very useful. And Team Petronas–Sepang largely benefits from this, because without Fabio its best result would be one of the fifth places obtained by Franco Morbidelli this year. The Italian is in tenth place overall, and Fabio therefore has a lot to do with obtaining the world title of best independent team. For this team's first season in MotoGP, it's a dream that has come true. Keeping your “Little Prince” is therefore a priority.
Square ace :
In the four essential areas of competition, the Petronas–Sepang team has strong strengths: the team personnel is good, as are the bikes, finance and long-term commitment. We see in F1, in particular with Lewis Hamilton, that Petronas is there to play for victory and is set in a winning spiral. Before committing to a factory team, there will be many parameters that Fabio will have to consider and weigh carefully.
Securing Independent Team honors last time out at the #MalaysianGP was a full-family effort – and it was great to be able to come together to celebrate it as a team, too!#PETRONASmotorsports | #MotoGP | #MalaysianGP | #FQ20 | #FM21 pic.twitter.com/tLtCh1NbLo
- PETRONAS SRT (@sepangracing) November 8, 2019
Fabio Quartararo rookie of the year.
Photos © Petronas–Yamaha–SRT and Quartararo personally