The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team had a tough outing in today’s Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich Race. Álex Rins and Fabio Quartararo finished in 16th and 18th place respectively.
Rins had a good start from 23rd and negotiated the busy and somewhat chaotic first corners skilfully to emerge in 19th place, which he held over the first six laps. He was defending the position from Takaaki Nakagami but eventually had to concede. Together they passed Joan Mir on lap 14. With Miller having crashed out earlier and Quartararo getting a long-lap penalty, the Spaniard had moved up the rankings to 17th place on lap 15. As the tank was getting emptier, the number-42 gradually closed the gap to Raul Fernandez and Nakagami in the final third of the race distance, flashing occasional personal best sectors. He launched an attack in the last three laps to overtake Raul Fernandez for 16th position and held it to the chequered flag, finishing 37.571s from the Race winner.
Quartararo had a good launch off the line from P15 and was soon up to eleventh position, though it was brief. He found himself in the busy mid-pack and was relegated back to 15th by the end of lap 3. Unable to stick with the riders ahead, he focused on blocking a charging Miguel Oliveira. After a few laps Oliveira passed, but with Miller crashing out on lap 11, the Frenchman was still holding on to a point-scoring position. Then Augusto Fernandez overtook him, and El Diablo was given a long-lap penalty for exceeding track limits. Wasting no time getting the penalty out of the way, Quartararo dropped to 19th place. He was unable to make up ground besides overtaking the flagging Raul Fernandez and finished in 18th position, 43.788s from first.
Today’s results see Quartararo keep 14th place in the overall standings with 49 points. Rins remains in 21st position with 8 points. Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP keep their 9th place in the team championship with 57 points, and Yamaha hold onto 4th position in the constructor’s championship with 53 points.
MotoGP will be back in action at the Motorland Aragón in Spain in two weeks’ time at the Gran Premio de Aragón. The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team will first have a private test at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli on 20-21 August.
Massimo Meregalli
Team Director
It was a race day to forget. It’s been a mirror image of yesterday’s Sprint race. We didn’t expect such a difficult weekend. Álex did a good job in today’s heat, especially considering his condition. Fabio had a good start but was not able to defend his position, and the long-lap penalty ended his chances to fight for points. Other than that, there’s not much to say. We need to really understand what is causing this poor performance. We have the Aragon GP coming up in two weeks’ time, but first we have a private Misano test next week. We are going to evaluate different components and, if the results are good, we are aiming to bring the parts straight to Aragon.
Álex Rins
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider
It was a really, really tough Race. It was so hard to finish the Race. First of all, because of the warm conditions, and second because I was struggling a bit with the bike. Less than yesterday, because we made a small improvement with the set-up, but it was still difficult to keep the rear tyre on the tarmac. When the rear lifts, we need to manage with the front brakes, so we experience some locking. But I’m so proud of myself! I demonstrated that I can overcome difficult moments with work and consistency. So, I’m looking forward to the private test in Misano. I’m ready to work!
Fabio Quartararo
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider
It was clearly a bit of a disastrous weekend for us. We expected more, especially from the Race today. We finished too far from the top guys, so we have to work hard, because we need it to change for the future.
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