Quartararo and Morbidelli Wrap Up Motegi Sprint in P15 & P16

30-09-2023

Quartararo and Morbidelli Wrap Up Motegi Sprint in P15 & P16

It was a challenging Saturday at the Mobility Resort Motegi for the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team with both Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli unable to ride towards the front like they wanted during the 12-lap Sprint. They finished the short dash to the chequered flag in 15th and 16th place respectively.

The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP teammates were unable to make up ground in today‘s Grand Prix of Japan Sprint. Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli battled amongst themselves multiple times to finish the Sprint in P15 and P16 respectively.

Quartararo started from P13 but found himself in the busy mid-pack and ultimately settled in 17th place. The Frenchman never felt fully comfortable during the short dash but did manage to overtake his teammate in the final stages. As Aleix Espargaró had retired with four laps remaining, the Frenchman crossed the finish line in 15th place, 19.333s from first.

Morbidelli started the 12-lap Sprint from P17 and made up some positions on the opening lap, muscling himself into 14th place. But the Italian struggled to defend his spot and gradually lost ground. After a swap of positions with his teammate, he ended the Sprint in 16th place, 19.645s from the winner.

Today‘s results see Quartararo keep his 11th place in the overall standings with 105 points. Morbidelli remains in 12th with 77 points. The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team are 6th in the team championship with 182 points, and Yamaha is in 5th position in the constructor‘s championship with 125 points.

The team will be back in action tomorrow for Warm Up, held from 10:40 - 10:50 GMT +9, and the Race, which starts at 15:00.

Fabio Quartararo

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP

"I didn‘t do a great first corner, unfortunately. I had a great start, but I didn‘t choose the right line and lost some positions. And behind some other riders it‘s difficult for us. I couldn‘t really do much after that. Hopefully we can make a better start tomorrow and gain some positions."

Franco Morbidelli

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP

"It was a difficult Sprint. We will try to improve for tomorrow. This track is big on acceleration, and we seem to be struggling in that area. It‘s a shame for our home GP. But anyway, we will try to improve for tomorrow. If we get a good start, we will aim for a top-10 result.

Massimo Meregalli

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP, Team Director

"The crash was not great. Unfortunately, we had a mishap with the front brake during all the laps. I crashed at quite a high speed, but luckily I only have a sprained ankle and some pain in my neck. I will be back tomorrow. Physically it will be a bit painful, of course, because the day after such a crash the body gets quite sore. But I have to say that I was pretty lucky. About the pace, we are one of the fastest. A low 1‘45s during eight laps with the medium rear, and then we put in the new soft rear and we didn‘t make a step. That‘s pretty frustrating for us, so we have to find a solution in this area."