Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP |News details:Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP End Spielberg Friday in P13 and P17

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Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP's Fabio Quartararo and Álex Rins put up a good fight for a top-10 position in today's Practice session in Spielberg. They finished in 13th and 17th place respectively and will take part in tomorrow’s Q1 at the Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich event.

Spielberg (Austria), 16th August 2024

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP's Fabio Quartararo and Álex Rins were pushing on the Friday to make the best possible start to the Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich race weekend. They finished in 13th and 17th place respectively in the Practice timesheets and will take part in tomorrow’s Q1.

After finishing the morning Free Practice session in 14th place, Quartararo made some changes with positive results as he prepared for the 60-minute Practice. The Frenchman soon featured inside the top 10 and held eighth place halfway through the session. He continued to prepare for the time attack, the inevitable fight for a spot in Q2. El Diablo needed to put his head down again in the final stages. He improved multiple times. His best lap, 1'29.380s, set on lap 24/26, ultimately earned him 13th place, 0.872s from first.

Rins had put in solid work after withdrawing from the British GP to return to a 100% fitness level for the Austrian GP. He wrapped up the morning free practice session in 13th place and was feeling good. However, the pace in the afternoon was hot right from the get-go. The Spaniard found himself in 17th place after the first half of the session. Despite improving to a 1'29.861s, which initially moved him up to fifth with 24 minutes to go, the number-42 rider couldn't relax, knowing that in the final stages the time attacks would start rolling in. Rins put in two more runs. His best attempt, a 1'29.822s, clocked on lap 17/22, put him in 17th position in the Practice classification, 1.314s from the top.

Massimo Meregalli

Team Director

We have our original rider line-up again, and the team is putting in hard work. The Spielberg track is more technical than it looks, evident by the many crashes we've seen by various riders today. Fabio and Álex steered clear of any trouble, and both put their best foot forward. Fabio's objective was to be inside the top 10, but we missed out by less than 0.1s. Álex showed today that his condition has improved compared to Silverstone. He used the Friday sessions to build up the pace and the confidence. We will work hard tonight and tomorrow morning to make a step for Qualifying and the Sprint.

Fabio Quartararo

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider

This morning wasn't great, but this afternoon was much better. We tried something that we never tried before. It was not fantastic, but it brought us closer to the way we used to ride the Yamaha. So, for me, we made a small step compared to this morning. The pace was better, more consistent. We're still far from the fastest guys, but this afternoon wasn't bad. I think that tomorrow we will make one more step in this direction. The changes we are making are helping, so I think there's still a possibility to go to Q2.

Álex Rins

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider

I'm in a really good shape. I was able to give my 100% from the beginning. It's true that at first I felt a bit 'lost'. This track looks easy, but it's so technical and so difficult. You need to brake in exactly the right place to avoid going straight, lose the bike, and everything. We did a good Friday, but we are still far from the top. We gave it our maximum, but we need to keep working on the bike, the settings, and the electronics. But I'm happy, because I'm feeling quite good.