After a fright at the beginning the original Grand Prix of Malaysia Race, Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP fans were relieved they could enjoy a good show from Fabio Quartararo and Álex Rins during the 19-lap restart. The Sepang International Circuit is not easy to negotiate in 34°C, but the teammates persevered and took sixth and eighth place respectively.
A dramatic original start to the Race, saw Quartararo involved in a nasty race incident with Brad Binder and Jack Miller in the second corner, causing a red flag. Quartararo, though limping a little, was able to walk away from the accident and return to the box in time for the Race restart. The race length was reduced by one lap to 19 laps in total. At 15:20 local time, pit lane opened for a quick restart procedure.
Quartararo resorted to his second bike to take his original eighth place on the grid, with Miller's spot in seventh place staying empty. The number-20 rider slotted into seventh place, safely negotiating the opening corners this time around. But he struggled to stay with the three riders ahead of him fighting for fourth. Pedro Acosta overtook him at the end of lap 3, but with Franco Morbidelli and Marc Marquez crashing on lap 7, El Diablo was soon up to sixth. It became a rather lonely ride for the Frenchman. He rode to the finish line holding sixth place, taking the chequered flag 16.245s behind the race winner.
Rins originally had a superb start before the red flag. He made sure to stay focused for the 19-lap restart. He commenced from the ninth slot on the grid again, but this time his launch wasn't as good, and he was in eighth position after the opening corners. Though Acosta was charging and briefly overtook him, the Yamaha man responded and reclaimed eighth. However, at the end of lap 2, Acosta passed him again, and two laps later also Maverick Viñales slipped through. But with two other rivals crashing on lap 7, the number-42 rider moved back up to eighth. At half race distance, on lap 10, Rins again challenged Viñales but was unsuccessful and then gradually lost time. With a substantial gap to the rider in front and behind him, he pushed on to take eighth place at the finish line, 20.611s from first.
Today's results see Quartararo hold 13th place in the overall standings with 108 points. Rins moves up to joint-18th position with 31 points. Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP move up to 8th place in the team championship with 139 points, and Yamaha hold on to 4th position in the constructor's championship with 119 points.
The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team will be back in action for the season finale, which could potentially be held in Barcelona from 15-17 November, to be confirmed by Dorna in due course.
After a fright at the beginning the original Grand Prix of Malaysia Race, Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP fans were relieved they could enjoy a good show from Fabio Quartararo and Álex Rins during the 19-lap restart. The Sepang International Circuit is not easy to negotiate in 34°C, but the teammates persevered and took sixth and eighth place respectively.
A dramatic original start to the Race, saw Quartararo involved in a nasty race incident with Brad Binder and Jack Miller in the second corner, causing a red flag. Quartararo, though limping a little, was able to walk away from the accident and return to the box in time for the Race restart. The race length was reduced by one lap to 19 laps in total. At 15:20 local time, pit lane opened for a quick restart procedure.
Quartararo resorted to his second bike to take his original eighth place on the grid, with Miller's spot in seventh place staying empty. The number-20 rider slotted into seventh place, safely negotiating the opening corners this time around. But he struggled to stay with the three riders ahead of him fighting for fourth. Pedro Acosta overtook him at the end of lap 3, but with Franco Morbidelli and Marc Marquez crashing on lap 7, El Diablo was soon up to sixth. It became a rather lonely ride for the Frenchman. He rode to the finish line holding sixth place, taking the chequered flag 16.245s behind the race winner.
Rins originally had a superb start before the red flag. He made sure to stay focused for the 19-lap restart. He commenced from the ninth slot on the grid again, but this time his launch wasn't as good, and he was in eighth position after the opening corners. Though Acosta was charging and briefly overtook him, the Yamaha man responded and reclaimed eighth. However, at the end of lap 2, Acosta passed him again, and two laps later also Maverick Viñales slipped through. But with two other rivals crashing on lap 7, the number-42 rider moved back up to eighth. At half race distance, on lap 10, Rins again challenged Viñales but was unsuccessful and then gradually lost time. With a substantial gap to the rider in front and behind him, he pushed on to take eighth place at the finish line, 20.611s from first.
Today's results see Quartararo hold 13th place in the overall standings with 108 points. Rins moves up to joint-18th position with 31 points. Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP move up to 8th place in the team championship with 139 points, and Yamaha hold on to 4th position in the constructor's championship with 119 points.
The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team will be back in action for the season finale, which could potentially be held in Barcelona from 15-17 November, to be confirmed by Dorna in due course.