Double Top 10 Result for Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP on Catalan GP Friday

03-06-2022

Double Top 10 Result for Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP on Catalan GP Friday

The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team took the first steps in preparing for this Sunday‘s Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya. Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli secured ninth and tenth position respectively in the combined FP timesheets today.

The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team started the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya keen to hit the ground running. Fabio Quartararo booked steady progress throughout the day to take ninth in the combined FP timesheets. Franco Morbidelli showed that he is on the right track, taking tenth position.

Quartararo focused on race pace in FP1. He worked on finessing his bikes settings, adjusting them to Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya‘s lay-out. With his best time of the session cancelled due to exceeding track limits, his next best lap, a 1‘41.104s set on lap 4/22, earned him 13th place, 1.003s from first.

The Frenchman bettered his time in the sweltering afternoon session. He completed 18 laps in the heat, saving the best for last. He clocked a 1‘40.123s on his 18th lap that lifted him up to eighth in the FP2 ranks, 0.721s from first. The time put in ninth place in the combined FP standings.

Morbidelli enjoyed a very strong start to the Catalan GP. A 1‘40.695s set on lap 6/19 in FP1 kept him at the top of the provisional rankings for the majority of the session. He ultimately finished the session in third place, 0.594s from the top.

The Italian kept the good vibes going in the afternoon. He improved to a 1‘40.204 lap, set on lap 19/20. The time kept him just inside the top 10. He finished tenth in both the FP2 and the combined free practice results, 0.802s off today‘s fastest time.

Fabio Quartararo

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP

"Today was pretty bad. These track conditions were not working well for me. When you put on a new tyre, you should be able to improve, but I couldn‘t, and the tyres dropped fast. The feeling wasn‘t good. My riding was really good, but we were still slow. We struggle with low grip conditions, we know this. But I think the track conditions will improve. Had the race been today, we would only have been able to do damage limitation, but we know that the more rubber on the track the better the grip. It‘s not going to rain, so I hope that by Sunday there‘s enough rubber to improve our pace. But I think everyone was struggling today."

Franco Morbidelli

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP

"Today was a positive Friday for us. The feeling is much closer to what I want, and the speed is also much closer to what I want. This morning we were very fast. This afternoon we had the chance to try a long run, and in the end we managed to get into the top 10. This is positive. We‘ll keep working and improving, and let‘s see where we can arrive."

Massimo Meregalli

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP, Team Director

"There are positives as well as negatives to take from today. We have both riders in the top 10 after two practice sessions, but we are quite far from the top. Fabio wasn‘t as high up the order as he and we had anticipated. We didn‘t expect to be struggling here with grip, but we still have enough time to turn things around. On a positive note: it‘s satisfying to see Franky more comfortable on the bike. But now we need to shave off more time to get closer to the competition."