Fabio Quartararo becomes the youngest ever World Champion after rival Francesco Bagnaia crashes out in Emiliano Romagna GP.
Yamaha rider, Fabio Quartararo claimed his first MotoGP title at the Emilia Romagna GP, with two races left of the season.
Quartararo nicknamed “El Diablo” became the first French rider to claim the title. The 22-years-old became the sixth youngest champion - even younger than the great Valentino Rossi - becoming Yamaha's first rider to lift the trophy since Jorge Lorenzo in 2015.
The Frenchman started the weekend in Misano, Italy, rocky as his best lap time was deleted due to a yellow flag infringement, ending his qualifying in Q2 for the first time this season. While rival Francesco “Pecco” Bagnaia clenched pole on the Saturday in a Ducati front row lockout.
The pole sitter looked strong on the Sunday, along with Honda's Marc Marquez, as the pair pulled away from the rest of the grid with Bagnaia comfortably in the lead, setting personal best lap times.
Quartararo was looking to minimise the damage "Pecco" could cause as he climbed his way from fifthteenth to fourth, but the Italian crashed out with only four laps to go. Not only did the Ducati rider lose control of his bike but he lost his race win and the hunt for the 2021 World Championship - this allowed Quartararo to comfortably finish the race in fourth.
Marquez went onto win his third race since returning from injury, with Honda's Pol Espargaro and Enea Bastianini riding the Ducati to complete the Italian GP’s podium. While legend Valentino Rossi completed his final home race in a 10th.