RiderTua.com – In the last few months there have been rumors that Fabio Quartararo will leave Yamaha because the Japanese manufacturer’s bikes are no longer competitive. Reportedly, the 24 year old rider received an offer from Aprilia.
However, the 2021 MotoGP world champion ignored this, and now El Diablo has decided to stay with Yamaha and sign a new 2 year contract. Now, with his new contract, Quartararo is the highest paid rider in MotoGP, with a value of 12 million euros per year (Rp. 206 billion).
The reason Fabio Quartararo rejected Aprilia’s offer was that his salary was only a third less than Yamaha
It has now been revealed that Aprilia offered Fabio Quartararo a deal worth just 4 million euros per year or IDR 68 billion. With only a third of the contract value given by Yamaha, it would not be wrong if he chose to stay even with a less competitive bike.
When Aprilia started negotiating with Quartararo about his future several months ago. the Italian manufacturer from Noale knows that they cannot compete with Yamaha in financial terms. But they hope that the competitiveness of the RS-GP can tempt El Diablo to make a similar decision to Marc Marquez.
As is known, Marquez chose to get out of his contract with Honda which has a fantastic value of 20 million euros or IDR 344 billion per year (which makes him the highest paid rider in MotoGP) and chose to go to the Gresini Ducati satellite team to get a more competitive package despite rumors Baby Alien does not receive a salary at the team owned by the late Fausto Gresini.
Aprilia enters the 2024 season with the target of establishing themselves as Ducati’s closest rival. Even though Brad Binder (KTM) is currently ranked 2nd in the standings, Maverick Vinales’ sprint race win at Portimao provides a glimpse of what Aprilia can do. Unfortunately the gearbox problem experienced by Vinales in Sunday’s main race showed the ‘bad’ side of Aprilia.
Other manufacturers were unable to make a serious offer to Quartararo to compete with Yamaha in paying rider salaries. Ducati has tied Pecco Bagnaia to a deal worth just 6 million euros per year or only half the salary Quartararo receives from Yamaha. They are also considering how to finance and whether to adjust the future of Marquez and Jorge Martin.
That means Quartararo can only join the Ducati satellite team with the financial and technical limitations that come with it. On the other hand, KTM prioritizes the evolution of Pedro Acosta and currently has Binder who has proven his good performance. Next year the Austrian manufacturer is also thought to have an interest in acquiring Marquez, which will clearly be detrimental to them.
What about Hondas? Even though they have financial strength, currently their bikes are even worse than Yamaha. Quartararo made the decision to become the highest paid MotoGP rider and remain patient in helping Yamaha’s development, however long it takes…
