It ’ s official , we have a Yamaha rider at the top of the MotoGP Championship for the first time since 2015 . Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP rider Fabio Quartararo put in a superb performance at the Gran Premio del Made in Italy e dell ’ Emilia Romagna , taking fourth place to secure the 2021 MotoGP World Championship title in his first year with the Factory Yamaha Team . The Yamaha rider entered Sunday ’ s race with a 52-point lead over Ducati ’ s Francesco “ Pecco ” Bagnaia . The Italian looked certain to cut into Frenchman Quartararo ’ s lead on home turf when he led Sunday ’ s race away from pole position and was pulling away from Honda ’ s Marc Márquez with five laps to go . But the Ducati rider lost control of his bike at the same spot on the course as his teammate Jack Miller while heading into turn 15 at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli in Italy , and with it his hopes of taking the championship . Quartararo , on the other hand , produced one out of the hat riding a brilliant race to take fourth position after starting back at 15th on the grid . With his main championship rival missing out on points after his turn 15 crash , Quartararo ’ s fourth place nabbed him the points needed to lock in the 2021 MotoGP Championship title with two rounds remaining . “ I still can ’ t believe it ! I can ’ t even talk ... It feels amazing ,” an elated Quartararo said post-race . “ Maybe later I can talk a bit more . Right now , I ’ m living the dream ! It feels good to also have my family with me , and we will enjoy this a lot tonight and until the end of the season . “ Of course this was not the way I wanted Pecco ’ s weekend to end , but I ’ m happy he ’ s okay . Now we are the World Champion . I have