Fabio Quartararo 13th in scorching #SanMarinoGP, Franky Morbidelli 15th
The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP teammates worked hard in the high temperatures at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli today. The duo showed grit in the Gran Premio di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini MotoGP Race and finished it in 13th and 15th place respectively.
Quartararo started the Race from P13. He wrestled himself temporarily into 12th place on the crowded opening lap but was back in 14th by lap 3. He found himself in a similar situation as yesterday, where he was able to easily match the pace of the riders ahead but was unable to find a way through. However, with Brad Binder crashing in Turn 14 a few laps later, the Frenchman did gain a position. The Yamaha rider rode in 13th place for the majority of the race. He put pressure on Aleix Espargaró at the very end but came just short. He finished in 13th place, just 0.020s behind the Spaniard and 15.898s from the race winner.
Morbidelli had a good start in the Race and rode from P19 on the grid to P17 at the end of the first lap. As Binder and later also Michele Pirro and Jack Miller crashed ahead of him, he moved up to 14th. It was mostly a lonely ride until the final six laps when Binder had caught up with the Italian, bringing Augusto Fernandez with him. Morbido lost a place to Binder, but he continued to put up a fight to hold on to a point-scoring position. He kept Augusto Fernandez at bay and took 15th place, 24.579s from first.
Today‘s results see Quartararo remain in 11th in the overall standings with 85 points. Morbidelli likewise is still in 12th place now with 68 points. The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team keep their 6th place in the team championship with 153 points, and Yamaha are joint 4th in the constructor‘s championship with 105 points.
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP will be back in action in at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli tomorrow for the one-day Official MotoGP Misano Test.
FABIO QUARTARARO
It was more of the same, but I feel like I was riding a little bit better today. I was fast with our bike. We have been able to maintain a good pace, but when we are behind someone, it‘s difficult to overtake. Four laps to the end, I decided to ’cut‘ on the straight: I created a gap of 1s to the riders ahead to see what our pace is like. Basically, in one lap I was already on the back of them again, so it was great to see that we are fast with our bike. But we need to make some big steps in tomorrow‘s test and leave with a better feeling.
FRANCO MORBIDELLI
It was a very tough race. I didn‘t have the performance I was expecting from the tyres. Moreover, the front pressure got very high, and I lost some performance. But, anyway, we couldn‘t do the maximum. I think the maximum would have been to be with the group in front of me, but I was starting from a bit too far behind, and I lost a bit too much time overtaking, so I lost contact. I rode a lonely race. I just met Brad at the end. But I‘m happy because I gave my 100%.