MotoGP French Grand Prix Porsetter Fabio Qualtalaro has unveiled a special one-off colouring that will race on Sunday, hoping to end the three-year victory drought in front of a crowd at home.
Fabio Cartalaro pleased the Le Mans Motogpu crowds Saturday morning when he took pole position from Mark Marquez with a new lap record at the Bugatti Circuit.
The 2021 World Champion continued his Q2 topping run at the Spanish Grand Prix two weeks ago, followed by his second topping run, which ended the Frenchman’s 1,134 days of waiting.
Quartarraro finished second in the Spanish Grand Prix at Yamaha, the factory representing him and the Japanese brand’s first podium since 2023.
As a result, he revealed this weekend that he will be performing a special one-off colouring for his home’s French GP.
On Saturday evening, in front of the packed grandstand on the main straight, Quartarao unveiled the special color scheme of the M1 and the lace leather to use for the 27-lap grand prix.
Operating the revised colouring at Le Mans has become a Quartarraro tradition in recent years.
On Saturday in the sprint race, Quartarraro led the first five laps of the 13 lap contest, with winner Marc Marquez finally coming to him at turn 8.
Quartarraro to hold the lead on the early laps eventually burned his soft rear tires, which led to Gresini Ducati duo Alex Marquez and Fermin Aldegu overhauling him in a quick succession.
The Yamaha rider ultimately took the Checkered Flag to fourth place. This is his best sprint result of the season and his best position in the half-distance race since the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix weekend.
He later admitted that he was “disappointed” by missing the podium on Saturday in France, but said it was “good” to feel this way, as if Yamaha and himself were aiming for a bigger outcome.
Cartalaro is not the only rider at the French Grand Prix to have special colouring on Sundays.
Yamaha satellite team Pramac features a revised color scheme to celebrate Alpine, the French automaker who became a team partner this season.