Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Start Flyaway Triple-Header in Mandalika

11-10-2023

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Start Flyaway Triple-Header in Mandalika

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP‘s Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli are keen to return to the Mandalika International Circuit. They look forward to greeting the incredibly passionate Indonesian fans at their second race on Indonesian soil, a year and a half after their last visit.

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP‘s Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli return to the scene of a very dramatic second race of the 2022 season – the debut of the Mandalika International Circuit in MotoGP – which was plagued by a sudden thunderstorm. This year they hope to impress the passionate Indonesian fans again at the second MotoGP Grand Prix of Indonesia, but in better weather conditions.

Quartararo, who is currently tenth in the overall standings, has been training around the clock during his week off between the Japanese GP and the Indonesian GP to be fully fit for the upcoming triple-header. He has good memories of racing at the Mandalika track, where he scored a second place in very wet conditions. He is hoping to get another podium this weekend in front of his large Indonesian fanbase.

Morbidelli holds twelfth place in the overall rankings as he arrives in Indonesia. He found a good pace in the wet at the Japanese GP, which bodes well for this race weekend should history repeat itself. Last year he scored seventh here in the treacherous conditions. The Italian feels that he can make a further step this weekend by collecting extra data at the Mandalika circuit, where they only rode twice before: during the 2022 Mandalika Test and the 2022 Grand Prix of Indonesia, held in February and March respectively.

The 4.3 km Mandalika International Circuit was built on Lombok Island. Though the longest straight is only 507 m, speed maniacs can still get their kicks at this track. Its layout includes 11 right and 6 left corners – many of them fast, giving the riders plenty of opportunities to overtake.

Those who want to get to know the Mandalika track better can watch this week's MotoGP eSport video.

The Grand Prix of Indonesia is held in the GMT +8 time zone. FP1 will take place on Friday from 10:45 – 11:30 local track time, followed by the Practice session from 15:00 – 16:00. On Saturday, FP2 will be held from 10:10 – 10:40, the qualifying sessions from 10:50 – 11:30, and the Sprint starts at 15:00. On Sunday, Warm Up is held from 10:40 – 10:50 and the Race starts at 15:00.

Fabio Quartararo

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP

"We are back in Mandalika again after a long time. I‘m happy to be back in Indonesia. The fans here treat me really well, so I will give it my all, as always, to get a good result. Last year, I was on the podium. Hopefully we can get another good result this year. It‘s been a while since we last rode here though, and this means we have to make good use of FP1 to be ready for the Practice."'

Franco Morbidelli

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP

"We return to the Mandalika track, which is a track I like. We had a good package here in the rain last year, and our pace in the rain at the Japanese GP two weeks ago was also decent. So, should it rain, I feel we have good potential again. The forecasts don‘t predict any rain, but regardless of the weather conditions, we will be pushing to get the best result possible. We know that this is one of those circuits where the track conditions improve over the course of the race weekend, but it will be important to find good speed early on to be ready for time attacks."

Massimo Meregalli

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP, Team Director

"We have left the Japanese GP behind us now and are determined to do better during the Indonesian GP. We had a great race in very wet conditions here last time round, but it looks like this weekend it will be dry and hot. We haven‘t visited this track since March last year, so we have to be mindful as we set up the bike. We are looking forward to this weekend. We know that the Indonesian fans are incredibly passionate about MotoGP, and we hope to give them an exciting Sprint and Race."