Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP |News details:Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Resume Testing Programme in Qatar

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Following the Sepang Test, held less than two weeks ago, the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team have travelled to the Lusail International Circuit for the two-day Qatar MotoGP Official Test. Fabio Quartararo and Álex Rins completed the first day in 10th and 19th place respectively.

Lusail (Qatar), 19th February 2024

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP's Fabio Quartararo and Álex Rins got a solid number of laps in on the first day of the two-day Qatar MotoGP Official Test. The Lusail International Circuit will also be hosting the opening GP of the season in a little over two weeks' time, making the Yamaha riders all the more keen to work through their testing programme. With the track conditions improving throughout the seven-hour session, they ended Day 1 in 10th and 19th place respectively.

Quartararo was fully focused on crossing items off his testing to-do list. The Frenchman ran a total of 58 laps. His 1’52.637s fastest time, set on lap 56, earned him tenth place in the Qatar Test Day-1 timesheets, 0.597s from first.

Rins had been looking forward to trying the M1 at another track to gain further experience on the Yamaha. He rode 51 laps over the course of Day 1, and he set a best time of 1’53.642s on lap 50, taking 19th place, 1.602s from the top.

Tomorrow the riders will be back at the Lusail track for further testing from 14:00 – 21:00 (GMT +3).

Fabio Quartararo

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider

We're focusing on the same areas as we did during the Sepang Test. The bike seems fast, which is positive, but we are quite far off in terms of one-lap performance. We made some massive changes since the Sepang Test, and we can notice the difference: there are some positives and some negatives. The way we are working now is really good – I really love it. This is why I'm really motivated, because I feel we are heading in the right way. But we still need time to find our full potential. Our main goal is to improve grip. The pace is not too bad, but we need to improve our starting positions.

Álex Rins

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider

Today was a good day. We started with a bit of chaos because I didn't ride here last year. There were new buildings around the track, so the references were a bit different. Overall, we worked a lot on the bike, testing new things. Some new items, and we confirmed items we tested in Sepang. So, we made many changes on the bike, and we also spent a lot of time working inside the box. I hope that tomorrow I can work more on my set-up for the upcoming race.