Quartararo Pushes to Take Solid Points in TT Assen Sprint

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP's Fabio Quartararo gained multiple positions early on in the TT Assen Sprint, setting him up perfectly to finish inside the points in 7th place. Álex Rins found himself at the back of the pack after a crash on lap 9. He ended the 13-lap dash in 19th position.

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP's Fabio Quartararo turned a challenging Saturday morning at the TT Circuit Assen into a fruitful afternoon during the Dutch GP Sprint. He secured seventh place, earning him three championship points. Álex Rins, on the other hand, had a day to forget. A crash in Turn 5 caused him to finish last in today's 13-lap challenge.

Quartararo started the Sprint from P13 but wrestled himself into the top 10 in no time. A lot happened all at once at the start of the second lap. El Diablo passed Franco Morbidelli but was himself overtaken by Fabio Di Giannantonio, while Marc Marquez crashed out in Turn 2. The events had the Frenchman settle into ninth place. By comparison, the remainder of the Sprint was rather uneventful for the Yamaha man. With a substantial gap forming to the riders in front of him as well as the rivals behind him, Quartararo steadily pushed on. The finish of the Sprint had some plot twists, though. A late crash by Aleix Espargaró on the final lap and a 3s-penalty for Alex Marquez for failing to comply with a long-lap penalty resulted in Quartararo ranking seventh in the Sprint classification, 10.828s from the winner.

Rins started the 13-lap dash from P16 on the grid. A surprisingly smooth opening stage in the mid-pack of the rider field helped him maintain his position over the first lap. The number-42 briefly gained a place as Marc Marquez crashed, but a charging Raul Fernandez relegated him to his starting point. He maintained 16th position for the majority of the Sprint, until with 5 laps to go he suffered a crash in Turn 5. He was able to quickly remount his bike but found himself at the back of the pack. He finished in 19th place, 1'23.553s from first.

Today's results see Quartararo in 12th place in the overall standings with 35 points. Rins stays in joint 20th position with 8 points. Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP keep their 9th place in the team championship with 43 points, and Yamaha hold onto 4th position in the constructor’s championship with 39 points.

On the Dutch GP Sunday, the teammates will start the track action with the Warm Up held from 09:40 - 09:50 (GMT +2), followed by the 26-lap Race, which starts at 14:00.