Following last Sunday's Grand Prix of Indonesia, the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team have travelled straight to Japan for Yamaha's home race, held this weekend at the Mobility Resort Motegi.

The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team have flown straight from Indonesia to Japan for Round 16 of the 2024 MotoGP World Championship. This event holds extra significance for the team as it's their manufacturer's home GP, so Fabio Quartararo and Álex Rins are keen to put on a good show.

Quartararo arrives at the Mobility Resort Motegi holding 13th position in the championship standings. As a fan of the Japanese track, he is aiming for solid points this weekend. He scored seventh place in the last three races and is aiming to keep the momentum going this weekend. He only has three MotoGP class races at Motegi under his belt so far. He did collect one podium, securing second place in 2019, he scored eighth place in 2022, and finished tenth in 2023.

Having officially kicked off the Far Eastern leg of the championship last week, Rins is looking forward to greeting the Japanese fans, who are extremely passionate. Following last Sunday's 11th place in the Race in Mandalika, he is now in joint 19th place in the championship standings and eager to score more points on Japanese soil. He has good memories of the Motegi track from when he stood on the third-place step of the premier class podium here in 2018.

The Motegi circuit was built in 1997 for test purposes. It was first visited by MotoGP for the Japanese Grand Prix in 1999. A year later the track hosted the Pacific Grand Prix, and it has remained a major attraction for motorsports fans ever since. In 2004 Motegi replaced the Suzuka Circuit on the MotoGP calendar to become the host of the Japanese Grand Prix once again, and it has kept this status ever since. The 4.8km track is known for setting the scene for lots of memorable and exciting racing moments thanks to its challenging layout of six left and eight right corners and various hard-braking and acceleration areas.

The Grand Prix of Japan is held in the GMT +9 time zone. FP1 will take place on Friday from 10:45 - 11:30 local track time and Practice will be held from 15:00 - 16:00. On Saturday, FP2 will be held from 10:10 - 10:40, and the qualifying sessions from 10:50 - 11:30, followed by the 12 lap Sprint at 15:00. On Sunday, Warm Up is held from 09:40 - 09:50 and the 24-lap Race starts at 14:00.

Before firing up their engines Friday at the Motegi track, Quartararo and Rins took the opportunity to visit the Yokohama Symphostage, joined by Japanese GP Yamaha wild-card rider Remy Gardner. The three riders enjoyed a warm reception and a tour of Yamaha Corporation's brand new interactive store at Minato Mirai, Yokohama, Japan, as well as Yamaha's Innovation Centre and E-Ride Base. Quartararo also visited the Sensō-ji (buddist) Temple / Asakusa Shrine later that afternoon, broadening his knowledge of traditional Japanese culture.