Difficult Start for Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP in Motegi Friday Sessions

The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team started the MotoGP action at the Mobility Resort Motegi today, but the weather was not on their side. Rain interrupted Fabio Quartararo's and Álex Rins' Friday morning plans for FP1, so they had to soldier on in the afternoon Practice. They ended the first day of the Grand Prix of Japan event in P14 and P20 respectively.

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP's Fabio Quartararo put up a good fight in the Grand Prix of Japan Practice time attack but was unable to secure a direct place in Q2. He finished in 14th position. Álex Rins' Friday at the Mobility Resort Motegi was mixed. After a solid FP1 in rainy conditions, he was unable to challenge for a top-10 result in the afternoon and ended the Practice session in 20th place, which also puts him on the entry list for Q1.

Quartararo ranked seventeenth in the FP1 timesheets this morning, which meant there was work to do for the Frenchman in the afternoon. He hopped right to it and clocked a 1'44.930s on lap 5 that put him in seventh place at the time. However, as always, the time attack at the end of the session was decisive. El Diablo gave it his all to obtain a direct spot in Q2 but ended the session in 14th place with a 1'44.401s set on lap 22/24, 0.965s from first.

Rins had finished the morning session in fourteenth place and spent the majority of the afternoon Practice tweaking the bike's set-up. The Spaniard put in a total of 22 laps but was unable to find enough of an improvement to secure himself a place inside the top 10. His 1'44.950s best time, set on lap 21/21, saw him finish in 20th place, 1.514s from today's fastest time.

The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team will be back in action tomorrow for the Saturday MotoGP sessions: FP2 will be held from 10:10 - 10:40 GMT + 9, followed by the qualifying sessions from 10:50 - 11:30, and the 12-lap Sprint that starts at 15:00.