Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP

Fabio Quartararo Pushes to P6 in French GP as Álex Rins Takes P12

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP's Fabio Quartararo had a superb start to the 27-lap Grand Prix of France. It proved key to him securing sixth place. Álex Rins had the opposite happen to him. He had ups and downs during the race but still finished in P12.

GRAND PRIX OF FRANCE

RACE

Le Mans (France), 10th May 2026

6th

F. Quartararo
+7.756 / 27 LAPS

12th

Á. Rins
+32.343 / 27 LAPS

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP's Fabio Quartararo had the fans in Le Mans cheering him on as he rode to a solid sixth place in the Grand Prix of France. Teammate Álex Rins emerged from a full-on battle with multiple rivals in P12.

Quartararo, sporting a special Le Mans livery, started from P5 and launched to P2 in a matter of a few corners. He was riding both aggressively and defensively but had to let Pedro Acosta through at the end of lap 2. Four more rivals passed El Diablo over the next 8 laps. With Francesco Bagnaia crashing out on lap 16 and Joan Mir on lap 20, Quartararo crossed the finish line in P6, 7.756s from first.

Rins started his 150th premier class race from P11 but fell back on the opening lap. As Alex Marquez crashed out and Diogo Moreira dropped down the order, the number 42 was in P17 by lap 3. He spent the remainder of the race battling with the Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP teammates and Franco Morbidelli. Multiple DNFs by other rivals had Rins take the chequered flag in P12, 32.343s from the winner.

Today's results see Quartararo in 16th place in the championship standings with 26 points. Rins is in 19th with 7 points. Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP are in 10th position in the team classifications with 33 points, and Yamaha is fifth in the constructor rankings with 29 points.

The team will now directly travel to Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain for the Monster Energy Grand Prix of Catalunya, held next week from 15-17 May.

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MASSIMO MEREGALLI
Sport Manager, Yamaha Motor Racing & Team Director, Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP

"It's been a GP of two tales for us again. Starting with the positive: Fabio made the decision to go with the soft front tyre, aiming to exploit it on the opening lap to get as much towards the front as possible. This tyre choice kept us on the edge of our seats as we were afraid the tyre would drop, but in the end Fabio made it work all the way to the end. He got the maximum out of our package today, and this sixth place is a very encouraging result for him and the team. Álex, on the other hand, had a difficult outing again. He had some ups and downs throughout the race. We will analyse all the data as we prepare for next week's Catalan GP."

FABIO QUARTARARO
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider

"We had to be really smooth on braking, but that's also were I can make the difference. I think today was the first race in a long time that I felt like this. I could push myself at 100%, and I think that was quite nice, especially on the opening lap. Everything was more close, it was easier to overtake, and I could feel the limit better, so yeah, it was nice. Let's see what happens at other track layouts."

ÁLEX RINS
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider

"It was really tough. In the middle of the race, I couldn't engage the right gear. Though it resolved itself later on, it cost me some positions. It’s a shame the race weekend ended like this after a good Friday. Now we will focus on Barcelona."