The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team continued their search for the optimal settings around the Spielberg track in both the dry and the wet. Fabio Quartararo put in a good number of laps to adapt his YZR-M1 to all possible conditions ahead of Sunday‘s Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich and ended the Friday in sixth place in the combined results.
Quartararo was keen to take his Yamaha out for a spin again on Austrian soil this morning. He made the most of the perfectly sunny riding conditions, tweaking his already competitive ’dry bike‘ setting. The Frenchman stuck to the soft-medium tyre combination throughout the session. He lost a bit of time at the end of FP1 when he thought he felt something unusual on the bike, but the M1 was fine when he checked it. The number-20 rider was able to continue riding without any problem. Though he didn‘t put in a mini time-attack, he still finished comfortably inside the top 10. His 1‘23.865s, set on lap 6/21, earned him sixth place, 1.038s from first.
El Diablo had a busy afternoon adjusting his bike and his riding style to the drenched track. Knowing how quickly Spielberg's track conditions change, he got right to work trying to improve his feeling in the wet. As the track dried in the latter stages of the session, the Yamaha man moved into the top 10 whilst still on rain tyres. He ended FP2 in ninth place with a 1‘32.784s time, set on lap 19/20, which put him 5.264s from the front. However, with no rider improving on their morning time, Quartararo remained sixth in the combined FP results.
