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Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Ready To Tackle Thailand GP

The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team have travelled to the Chang International Circuit for Round 18, the Grand Prix of Thailand, held this weekend. Fabio Quartararo and Álex Rins are looking forward to receiving the support of the Thai fans.
Buriram (Thailand), 23rd October 2024

The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team have travelled from the Australian GP to the Chang International Circuit for the Thailand Grand Prix, held this weekend. Fabio Quartararo and Álex Rins are looking forward to enjoying the great atmosphere at this venue again.

After ending the tough GP weekend in Australia on a high note, Quartararo still holds 13th place in the championship standings. The MotoGP paddock visited the Buriram circuit four times before, in 2018, 2019, 2022, and 2023. El Diablo's best result here was on his first Thai premier class race in 2019, when he captured second place. The number-20 rider hopes to have a good result in front of the local fans again this year.

Rins is keen to head back to the Chang circuit and experience the passion of the Thai motorsport fans during his first visit there as a Yamaha rider. Having made some changes to the bike on Sunday at the Phillip Island track, he feels fully motivated to get back to work in Buriram this weekend and put the setting tweaks to the test at a different circuit. He achieved his best result in Thailand in 2019, securing fifth in the MotoGP class. The Spaniard is currently 19th in the overall MotoGP rider standings and is eager to score points again this weekend.

The Chang International Circuit opened in 2014. Only one year later, the FIM Superbike World Championship started racing at the venue, and in 2018 MotoGP made its debut there. The circuit is located about 410km northeast of the country's capital, Bangkok, and is close to the town of Buriram. Buriram translates to 'City of Happiness', and it delivered. The Thai GP became a big hit with the teams and riders. Many were excited by the Chang track's 4.5km layout, including a 1km longest straight and five left and seven right turns.

The Grand Prix of Thailand is held in the GMT +7 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 13-lap Sprint that starts at 15:00. On Sunday, Warm Up is held from 10:40-10:50 and the 26-lap Race starts at 15:00.

*On Sunday, 27 October, daylight saving time will start in Europe. The clocks in Thailand do not change, increasing the time difference between Thailand and Europe by one hour for the Sunday.

Massimo Meregalli

Massimo Meregalli

Team Director

We have arrived in Thailand for the second round of the second triple header. We struggled during the Australian GP but ended it on a high note with both riders feeling better on the bike in the Race than they did before. The goal for this week is to stay on that trajectory. However, the Buriram track and climate are quite different from last weeks', so we will adapt accordingly. Our team always likes visiting the Chang International Circuit because of the amazing atmosphere, so we are ready to get to work again.
Fabio Quartararo

Fabio Quartararo

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider

We travelled from Australia straight to Thailand, which is good. After a difficult weekend, it's good to have back-to-back races so we can compare the data from different tracks. I like the Chang circuit, and the fans' support is also really great there. Hopefully we get lucky with the weather so we can get a lot of work done and the fans can fully enjoy the race weekend as well.
Álex Rins

Álex Rins

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider

We are now in Thailand, which is always a special GP. The fans here are so enthusiastic about MotoGP and that always puts everyone in the paddock in a good mood. At the last GP, we struggled in the Sprint, and despite doing a great job and finding a better performance on Sunday, we were still outside the top 10 and missing some speed compared to the others. The Thai GP will be a great opportunity to check if last Sunday's improvement is also effective on other circuits and to keep developing the bike, so I can't wait to be on track.