Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP |News details:Quartararo Finishes Fourth in Portuguese GP Sprint

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Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP's Fabio Quartararo turned his fortunes around on the Saturday at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve. Having qualified in P3 for the 12-lap Sprint, the Frenchman rode both aggressively and defensively to finish the short dash in 4th place. Rins, on the other hand, didn't manage to get on the upward trajectory he had set out for. He took the chequered flag in 17th place.

Portimão (Portugal), 8 November 2025

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP's Fabio Quartararo showed his fighting spirit on the Grand Prix of Portugal Saturday. He turned a positive front-row starting position into a solid 4th place in the Sprint. Álex Rins ran wide in Turn 1 on the opening lap and lost some ground. He ultimately finished in P17.

Quartararo benefited from another superb qualifying effort. He successfully negotiated Q1 to take P3 in Q2, securing his tenth front-row start of the season. At the start of the Sprint, he quickly slotted into fourth place. With a substantial gap starting to form to the leading trio over the first three laps, El Diablo knew that he would have to stay alert for any potential charging rivals. The Frenchman is a fan of the Algarve track and managed the distance between himself and fifth place expertly, crossing the finish line 5.276s from first.

Rins started the 12-lap contest from P17 but soon was relegated to the back of the pack in the usual opening-lap chaos. The Yamaha man was keen to make up ground but lost some time trying to find a way through on Lorenzo Savadori. When the number 42 did pass him on lap 7, the gap to Franco Morbidelli had already become too large to bridge. With three rivals failing to complete the Sprint, Rins crossed the finish line in 17th place, 22.861s from first.

After today's results, Quartararo stays in 9th place in the overall standings with 188 points, and Rins holds 19th position with 63 points. Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP are 6th in the team championship with 251 points, and Yamaha remain in 5th position in the constructor championship with 227 points.

Tomorrow the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP teammates will be back in action for Warm Up from 9:40-9:50 GMT+0, followed by the 25-lap Race, starting at 13:00.

Massimo Meregalli

Team Director, Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP

"While the weather improved compared to yesterday, our results remained mixed. On the positive side, Fabio delivered an impressive turnaround, advancing through Q1 to secure third on the grid and then pushing hard for a strong fourth-place finish. It's a testament to his determination and ability to perform when it matters most. Unfortunately, it was a challenging day for Álex. Starting from P17 and a difficult opening lap compromised his chances to battle in the mid-pack. But he'll have an opportunity to come back stronger in tomorrow's 25-lap Race."

Fabio Quartararo

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider

"We had a good day, especially considering how difficult yesterday was. I'm a hard braker, and I wanted more support on the front to be able to brake a bit harder. I was expecting the track to be dirtier, but it actually was quite okay. My pace was good from the first lap of the Sprint, but the three guys in front were faster. I was more pushing myself to the maximum whilst also nursing the tyres. We did feel a bit of a drop, but I saw that Pecco was 1s behind me and on the next lap it was Diggia with 0.8s, so I was pushing more on the last laps, and I could maintain the same gap."

Álex Rins

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider

"It all began at the start: I had an issue with the clutch, and I lost some positions. After that, on the first lap, I almost crashed into Savadori in corner 1, so I went wide, out of the track. I was a couple of seconds behind. I closed the gap, but I spent 5-6 laps to overtake a rider though I had a better pace than him. So far, it's been a tough weekend for us. Let's see what happens tomorrow. I aim to be inside the points."