Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP |News details:Quartararo Rides to Stunning Eighth Place in Aragon Sprint

Pictures for editorial use only
Copyright 2024 Yamaha Motor Racing Srl

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP's Fabio Quartararo delighted his fans during today's Gran Premio de Aragón Sprint. He rode from P17 on the grid to a hard-fought P8 across the finish line. Álex Rins also salvaged four positions over the course of the 11-lap dash to take P17.

Alcañiz (Spain), 31st August 2024

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP's Fabio Quartararo turned his fortunes around at the MotorLand Aragón during today's Sprint. He had the Yamaha fans cheering him on as he carved through the pack, riding from P17 to P8, earning himself two championship points. Álex Rins also made steps on the Saturday afternoon. Starting the Sprint from P21, he recovered to P17.

Quartararo had a lightning start from P17 on the grid and rocketed through the pack to settle in ninth place after the opening lap. The Yamaha man had the race pace to keep up with Raul Fernandez ahead of him and make a challenge. With six laps to go, he went for the pass and took eighth. El Diablo then chased down the rider ahead of him, Francesco Bagnaia, accompanied by a charging Enea Bastianini. Caught in a tussle between the two Ducatis, the Frenchman was relegated to ninth. There were three laps left for him to try and overtake Bagnaia. After a trial run on the penultimate lap, he made it stick on the final one with a block pass that earned him eighth place as he crossed the line 18.836s from the winner.

Rins started the Sprint from P21, a tricky spot to be in as the 22 riders charged into the first corner. After some crashes by other riders and the order reshuffling on the opening laps, he found himself in 17th place chasing Luca Marini. Rins closed the gap to the Italian over the 11-lap dash but was unable to overtake him. The Yamaha man finished in 17th place, 0.088s behind Marini and 26.910s from first.

Today's results see Quartararo keep 14th place in the overall standings with now 51 points. Rins remains in 21st position with 8 points. Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP keep their 9th place in the team championship with 59 points, and Yamaha hold onto 4th position in the constructor's championship with 55 points.

MotoGP will be back in action tomorrow for Warm Up, held from 09:40 - 09:50 (GMT +2), and the 23-lap Race, which starts at 14:00.

Massimo Meregalli

Team Director

We had a tough start to the Saturday, and it ended with mixed results. We didn't get the qualifying positions we had hoped for, but in FP2 we could already see that Fabio and his crew had found something to improve his feeling with the bike because his pace was decent. On top of this, he had an excellent start from P17, putting him in the perfect position to challenge other riders for championship points. While we still have work to do, it was great for Fabio and for the team to see him battle with the front-runners of the championship again and showcase his racing talent. Álex started the Sprint in P21, which is arguably one of the least desirable places to be in during the usually chaotic opening laps. He couldn't do more than recover a few places. We will analyse the data and come up with a solution for tomorrow's Race.

Fabio Quartararo

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider

Today was nice! I saw some riders have wheelspin in front of me, so I took the opportunity, made a great start, and I tried to make the best of it. The pace was not superfast in front of us. We fought with great riders today like Pecco, and I had fun. It was a good opportunity to bring a smile on the faces of the people in our box and also on my face. We are giving it our best, and today's Sprint was a fun one for us.

Álex Rins

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider

The Sprint was a little bit difficult to manage. I got involved with some crashes ahead of me that I couldn't avoid, like the one of Aleix at the start. I was then back in last place. I was trying to recover positions, and I overtook Mir. Marini was a little bit far. I did catch up, but then I got stuck behind him. I was thinking of overtaking him in corner 15, on the change of direction, but he prepared super well for it, so I couldn't.