Fabio Quartararo has explained why he opted to sign on the dotted line of a fresh contract that will keep him at Monster Energy Yamaha Racing for the 2025 and 2026 MotoGP season, stating that he was enticed to stay by the ‘huge’ plans it has in the pipeline.

The 2021 MotoGP World Champion quashed rumours of a potential defection to Aprilia by agreeing on a new deal that will extend his tenure at Yamaha by another two seasons.

Having made his MotoGP with the manufacturer in 2019 as part of the satellite Petronas SRT outfit, while Quartararo reveals there were discussions with rivals, he says he was convinced to stay after Yamaha outlined what he describes as a ‘huge’ future project.

“Of course, we talked to different manufacturers,” he said ahead of this weekend’s Grand Prix of The Americas. “The decision was not easy, but in Portugal we had a great meeting of top management and engineers at Yamaha about the project from now until the end of the year to 2025 and 2026. 

“There are some really interesting things that are still confidential [but] the project is going to be huge, so the decision was made in Portugal.

“They gave me information that made me want to re-sign. I think what really made me stay is the way we have changed the way we work. In Malaysia we saw something was not working, but our engineers worked it out and solved the problem. 

“Yamaha is investing a lot and when a brand like Yamaha shows they really want to keep me, it shows loyalty from them also.”

The new contract comes despite Yamaha enduring a decline in competitiveness since Quartararo’s title success, a slide in form that has received damning appraisal from the Frenchman on numerous occasions in the media.

However, it is feedback that has signalled a catalyst for change at Yamaha - both in terms of working culture internally and the hiring new personnel - a process that not only motivated Quartararo’s decision to stay with the manufacturer, but he insists is already reaping rewards.

“This year, I wasn’t complaining, it was the reality,” he responded when asked whether he would be less vocal about the performance of his Yamaha M1 in future.

“I think the project is coming from the future and into the present. It started in January with new engineers coming from Ducati. 

“I think it will take time, last year I complained a lot but this year Yamaha made this big change in mentality and the way it is working now is completely different. 

“We are still very far from the top guys but we need more time to be closer, but there aren’t complaints from the last races, it’s just this is where we are now.”