Frenchman Fabio Quartararo got his start in motorcycle racing at the age of four, moving to Spain to develop his career and proclaimed national champion in the 70, 80 and 125 categories. In 2013 he won the FIM CEV Repsol Moto3™ championship and went on to win the same title again in 2014. The previous rule against participating in the Moto3™ World Championship until the age of 16 had been repealed for the winner of the then-national crown, so for 2015 - aged just 15 - Quartararo joined teammate Jorge Navarro in the Estrella Galicia 0,0 Honda team.
Impressing from the start, Quartararo was on the podium in just his second race. He repeated that in Assen after claiming pole at both Jerez and Le Mans, but unfortunately a late season ankle injury halted his progress. For 2016 he moved to the Leopard Racing team with KTM machinery, and then moved up to Moto2™ in 2017 with Paginas Amarillas HP40. After some impressive showings of pace, Quartararo moved to Speed Up for his sophomore season in the intermediate class and took his first win - and pole - at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
His move to the premier class surprised many, but what followed in 2019 was nothing short of remarkable: seven podiums, fifth in the Championship and Rookie of the Year with 192 points. His stock continued to rise in 2020, opening up the season with back-to-back victories while securing a third in Barcelona. He lead the chasing pack in the Championship race until a sudden drop off in form cost him dearly and he slipped all the way down to eighth in the standings. The pressure was on straight away for El Diablo in 2021, replacing his hero Valentino Rossi in the factory Yamaha squad, but he didn't disappoint. Victory at Round 2 in Qatar was the springboard he needed and, despite arm pump issues in Jerez and problems with his leathers in Barcelona, he was a reformed character, keeping his cool to put together a memorable season. Four further victories, ten podiums, five pole positions all equalled his, and France's, first MotoGP™ World Championship. His quest to go back-to-back started well, with victories at Portimao, Catalunya and the Sachsenring seeing him lead the title chase heading into the summer break. But a largely unimproved Yamaha M1 eventually caught up with the Frenchman in the second half of the year. Quartararo's collpase coincided with Bagnaia's superlative form as the Italian was able to complete a 91 point turnaround at the final round of the year in Valencia to deny Quartararo his dream of becoming a two-time World Champion.