Monster Energy Yamaha All Set to Start Asian Leg in Japan

21-09-2022

Monster Energy Yamaha All Set to Start Asian Leg in Japan

Following Sunday‘s Gran Premio de Aragon, the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team have travelled from Spain to Japan for the first of four flyaway races in Asia and Australia, starting with the Grand Prix of Japan, Yamaha‘s home race.

The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team have flown to Japan for a very significant round at the Mobility Resort Motegi track. As the Grand Prix of Japan is the manufacturer‘s home GP, Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli are keen to put on a good show.

Last Sunday‘s crash in the Gran Premio de Aragón left Quartararo with abrasions on his chest, but he feels encouraged by the well wishes from fans as well as the support of the engineers at the Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. headquarters in Iwata.

El Diablo will commence Round 16 of the 2022 MotoGP season holding first position in the championship standings with a 10-point margin to second. As a fan of the Motegi track, he is fancying his chances of a podium. He only has one MotoGP class race at Motegi under his belt so far, where he did collect a podium, securing second place in 2019.

Morbidelli is looking forward to the intense but very rewarding schedule of the overseas races. The fans in Japan, Thailand, Australia, and Malaysia are extremely passionate, creating a special atmosphere at all four tracks.

The Italian is in 19th place in the championship standings and eager to make a strong comeback at the Motegi Circuit. He stood on the Japanese podium in the Moto2 class in 2016 when he secured third place. He only rode two premier class races here before with a highest result of sixth place in 2019.

The Motegi circuit was built in 1997 for test purposes. It was first visited by MotoGP in 1999 for the Japanese Grand Prix. A year later the track hosted the Pacific Grand Prix, and it has remained a major attraction for motorsports fans ever since. In 2004 Motegi replaced the Suzuka Circuit on the MotoGP calendar to become the host of the Japanese Grand Prix once again, and it has kept this status ever since. The 4.8km track is known for setting the scene for lots of memorable and exciting racing moments, thanks to its challenging lay-out of six left and eight right corners, and various hard braking and acceleration areas.

The Grand Prix of Japan is held in the GMT +9 time zone. An extra long FP1 will take place on Friday afternoon from 15:05 - 16:20 local track time. On Saturday, FP2 will be held from 10:50 - 11:35, FP3 from 14:25 - 14:55, and the qualifying sessions from 15:05 - 15:45. On Sunday, Warm Up is held from 10:40 - 11:00 and the race starts at 15:00.

Fabio Quartararo

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP

"First of all, I want to thank the fans for all their well wishes. I‘m doing better. The abrasions are healing. It‘s not going to be easy, but I‘m trying my best to be fully fit for the race here and fight for the victory. I‘m always pushing at 100% regardless of where we‘re racing or what the circumstances are, so that‘s something I will also do this weekend."

Franco Morbidelli

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP

"It‘s positive that we have another race weekend straight after the Aragon GP, so we can continue searching for what‘s needed for me to be faster in fast corners. It‘s nice to finally be back in Japan for the first time since 2019. I enjoy this circuit, and it will be interesting to revisit it and see how to tweak our setting from three years ago to make it match the 2022 M1."

Massimo Meregalli

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP

"We have arrived in Japan and can‘t wait to start the next race weekend. The Japanese GP is always important for Yamaha, as it‘s the company‘s home GP. But that‘s even more so the case now because they‘ve had to wait three years for our return. The engineers at the Yamaha Headquarters in Iwata as well as the Japanese fans are very passionate about motorcycle racing, so we want to reward their patience with a good show."