Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP to Start Sepang Race from P7 & P12

22-10-2022

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP to Start Sepang Race from P7 & P12

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP‘s Franco Morbidelli secured his best qualifying result of 2022 at the Sepang International Circuit today, taking seventh place on the grid. Fabio Quartararo suffered a crash in FP4, impeding his qualifying efforts. He will start the race from 12th position.

The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team had an eventful second day of the Grand Prix of Malaysia. Franco Morbidelli secured his best qualifying result of the season, taking seventh place. Fabio Quartararo had a crash in FP4 shortly before the Q2 session. During the shoot-out he didn't have the same feeling with his bike as he had before the fall and qualified in 12th position on the grid.

Morbidelli let the majority of the Q2 riders exit pit lane ahead of him and immediately went down to business. He clocked a 1‘58.932s that initially put him in fourth. Unable to improve on his next try, he returned to the pit box in seventh place.

With three and a half minutes remaining, the Italian rejoined the track action. The pace was picking up, but the Yamaha man also had something left in the tank. He clocked a 1‘58.654s for fifth place. But with some hot laps coming in after the chequered flag, he ended the session in seventh position, 0.864s from first.

Tomorrow, Morbido will be pushing from the third row right from the get-go, to make the most of his qualifying result before completing the double long-lap penalty he received for irresponsible riding in FP3.

As the last rider of Q2 to head out on track, Quartararo followed teammate Morbidelli out of pit lane. However, a crash in FP4 had caused damage to his dry set-up YZR-M1. His crew did a stellar job to get his bike ready in time for the first stint, however he didn't have the same feeling he had before the crash. His 1‘59.215s, set on his third lap, held him in 11th place as he headed back to the pits for a new tyre.

With four minutes on the clock, he rushed back out for his second run. He was in 12th place on his final try. The Frenchman was digging deep, setting two personal best sectors, but a moment in Turn 8 cost him the lap. He stayed in 12th place, 1.425s from the top, and will start the Malaysian GP from the fourth row of the grid.

Franco Morbidelli

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP

"Today was a good day. We had a good Friday, and this time we were finally able to bring the good level of the first day over to Saturday's hot laps, which is important. I'm happy about that. We made some small changes to the bike, and I'm working on improving my time attack. I made a mistake in FP3, and I impeded Bagnaia. I had just come out of the pit box, it was raining, and I was paying attention to the riders in front of me as well and forgot to look behind me. It was my mistake."

Fabio Quartararo

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP

"It will be difficult starting from 12th, but as for the pace, I'm not feeling so bad. After the crash, I went out on the same bike because we had the other one set up for wet conditions, but it still felt like another bike after repairs. The pace was not bad, but starting Q2 with a set-back was difficult. The injury to my finger was not a problem in qualifying. Maybe I was less focused. I don't know why I wasn't so fast on the first run. The second run was much better up until Turn 8. Our strategy is to just go as fast as possible and then we'll see. I will have many things to think about during the race, so I don't expect the finger to be a problem."

Massimo Meregalli

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP, Team Director

"It was an eventful day. The positive we take away from today is that Franky has been able to keep going the speed and pace he found yesterday. He has been consistently fast, and he scored his best qualifying result of the season so far, which is really encouraging. Unfortunately, he also cruised on the race line in FP3 and received a double long-lap penalty from Race Direction for tomorrow‘s Malaysian GP, so that will certainly impact his race. It was an unlucky day for Fabio. His pace this weekend has been pretty decent, and we expected to be fighting for the front two rows again. A crash in FP4 resulted in him injuring his left hand, but that doesn't seem to bother him too much. The main problem was getting his bike with the dry set-up ready in time. It took him until the second run to have the same feeling as before the crash, but another moment in Turn 8 spoiled his chances of climbing up the order. It's a shame because we know he‘s capable of great things at this track. But we are not too far behind our main rival, so anything is still possible."