Quartararo splits with long-time MotoGP manager Eric Mahe

Fabio Quartararo has split with long-time manager Eric Mahe as he continues to navigate a difficult period in his MotoGP career.

Although neither the rider nor Yamaha has anything to say about it, Autosport has learned that both parties have decided to end their agreement.

It is not yet known who will assume that role ahead of 2024, a key season in which the 2021 MotoGP world champion must decide his future.

Mahe did not travel to Mugello this weekend, where the sixth round of the calendar will be held on Sunday.

He began his relationship with Quartararo in mid-2016, when the Frenchman was still competing in Moto3 and after he had split with Eduardo Martin, his agent until that time.

The former Superbike rider finalised Quartararo’s promotion to Moto2 in 2017, and subsequently his jump to MotoGP, with Yamaha and in the Sepang Racing Team (SRT) satellite structure.

It was also Mahe who secured Quartararo’s Yamaha deal for 2021, and subsequently his last contract renewal, which lasts until the end of next year.

At Mugello on Friday, Quartararo finished 15th in the combined timesheets, forcing him to go through Q1 for the third consecutive race.

Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

In fact, the Yamaha rider was among the few who in the afternoon could not lower the time achieved in the morning.

Quartararo said after the session: "I was hoping to go a bit better. The two fastest lap attempts were not too good. In the morning I didn't think I would do so well, and that's why we have to see what happened in the afternoon.

"My feelings are not the best. I have to try to have a good time on the bike, which is not happening right now. I don't have confidence in the front end.”

Asked whether he was feeling more calm this weekend than at the last round in Le Mans, he said: "I look more calm.

“But you know, I try to stay calm, because in the end, getting angry every time will not help to improve our performance.”

This split comes less than a year after Marc Márquez made the decision to separate from Emilio Alzamora, who had accompanied the Spaniard throughout his career.