After finding his feet during the opening flyaways, MotoGP rookie Fabio Quartararo has scorched to five front-row starts, two🗹 podiums and two fastest laps in just six events.

The stunning run was bookended by non-scores - a technical issue in Jerez and first race mistake at Sachsenring - but the Frenchman has still risen to eighth in ﷽the world championship, three points from top sate✨llite rider Jack Miller (Pramac Ducati).

Quartararo has also delivered those giant-killing performances, and bolted to a big lead in the Rookie of the Year standings, despite rid🦄ing the lowest-ꦇspec M1.

While Petronas secured a factory bike to match official riders Maverick Vinales and Valentino Rossi for team-mate Franco Morbidelli - eleventh in the championship, best finish of fi𒀰fth - it was felt that a standard package would suffice for Qu𓆏artararo's 'learning year'.

Initially, the 20-year-old was due to gღet last season's M1, nicknamed a 'B' spec bike, but this was ultimately upgraded to 'A-' over🌱 the winter.

Quartararo has a 2𒐪019 engine and chassis. However, to reflect his cheaper bike package, Quartararo is understood to have a lower rev limit (estimates vary from 500-1000rpm), so that he only needs five instead of sev꧙en engine changes, plus 'standard' suspension and older aerodynamics.

While team boss Razlan Razali cast doubt on whether Quartararo's package could be upgraded during the current sea🌊son, and is reluctant to change something thaཧt is clearly working so well, he feels the 20-year-old 'deserves' to be on the same factory-spec bike as Morbidelli next year.

"What Fabio has done so far is something beyond everybody’s 🎐imagination, especially the team," Raza🅷li said.

"I do not want to change what Fabio is enjoying at the moment. One thing I know from Di𝓰ego [Gubellini]🧔, his crew chief, is that Fabio just has to adapt his style to the bike with minimal changes.

"That is also why I question how come the factory riders can't do it? Fabio's bike spec is less than Frankie and the f𝓰actory [team]…

"I think Fabio deserves ♕to be on a factory bike next year, and I just can’t imagine what he will be like if he’s on a factory bike!"

Running two factory-spec machinesౠ would r𒉰equire added budget from Petronas and greater technical resources from Yamaha.

There are reports that Yamaha would prefer to keep the current 'A' and 'A-' bike specs, but it's worth remembering that Sepang originally intended to have two factorღy Yamahas when in talks to sign Dani Pedrosa alongside Morbidelli, so it should be do-able.

"Initially it was two [factoryᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ bikes]. But then [Pedrosa] dropped off," Razali said൲ last year.

"When we ran out of riders for the second bike of the calibre that would deserve a factory ride then we thought, 'let's look at a young rider'. A f🐼ew names came in and we locked onto Quartararo."

Razali updates the story: "We saw the idea of, okay we have Frankie that should give us that performance, but we want to be a young, new, exciting team. If not, there’s no real story. You bring Bautista in and there’s nothing much to write about. So 𝔉at least having a rookie - and Fabio surprised everybody."

But signing a ri🌳der with only one grand prix victory for such a high-profile MotoGP pꦆlace meant many were quick to dismiss the decision.

"We were criticiz𒉰ed. 'Why do you take Fabio? You should take Bautista or Alex Marquez. You guys made a big mistake'," Razali said.

"Now everybody is claiming [the credit]☂, 'We told you so!' "

ღResearch by the Sepang team into Quartararo's background suggested not only that he was an untapped talent worthy of the MotoGP chance, but that to perform at h🅠is maximum requires a pressure-free approach.

"I think [the success] is a combination of Fabioౠ having fun and we always maintain the fact that the target is to be Rookie of the♛ Year. That’s it. Anything more is a bonus. So there’s no added pressure," Razali said.

"I was informed by the team that, every rider is a special rider, but we made an exception with Fabio from his backgꦰround and history. So we try to protect him as much as possible, together with his manager, Eric [Mahe].

"So we already knew whꩵat he’s like, where he could get a bit nervous… But I think he’s coping with all the attentionꦚ that he’s getting this year very well.

"I think what’s important is ⛎so as long as the team doesn’t pressure him too much."

A natural consequence of Quartararo's form is that the Frenchman will become a prime target for factory teams when his Petronas contract ⛎expires at the end of next 🍎season.

Razali is already preparing a conting🍌ency plan by seeking a second entry for the Sepang Moto2 squad, with the purpose of finding "the next ro🍎okie MotoGP rider in 2021".

"Already after Mugello a lot of stories were flying around so we must anticipate there will be changes [to the Petronas Moto💙GP line-up]," Razali said, referring to early season gossip of a Vinales-Quartararo swap.

"We are approaching a number of [Moto🎃2] riders with the commitment, subject to their performance, that they will go to MotoGP on a Yamaha in 2021. That’s attractive. Everybody is excited.

"But at the end of the day we would love our [current MotoGP] riders to stay. And if they both💛 stay, we would just extend the Moto2 rider(s) for one extra year."

Yamaha is not the only manufacturer that could potentially run four full-factꦏory machines next year with Ducati set to hand GP20s to both Pramac riders, Jack Miller and 𒀰(Quartararo's rookie rival) Francesco Bagnaia.