Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Prepare for Texas Throwdown
The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team made their way from Brazil to the USA and are setting up for this weekend's Round 3 on the 2026 MotoGP calendar: the Grand Prix of the United States held at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas.
Austin (Texas, USA), 25th March 2026
The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team have made their way from Brazil to Austin, Texas for the Grand Prix of The Americas. Fabio Quartararo and Álex Rins both like the COTA track and the atmosphere in Austin and are fully motivated to start the US GP race weekend.
Quartararo arrives in Austin ranking 16th in the championship. The track holds good memories for him: he took second place there in Moto3 in 2015, repeated the result in MotoGP in 2021, and returned to the podium with a third place in 2023. He aims to add another strong result this weekend.
Rins always looks forward to riding at COTA. He won the 2023 Americas GP there after finishing second in the Sprint and previously claimed MotoGP podiums in 2022 (P2) and 2019 (P1). His US GP success also includes rostrums in Moto2 in 2016 (P1) and 2015 (P3) and Moto3 in 2013 (P1). Sitting 18th in the 2026 standings, he targets another solid points haul.
After completion in 2012, the Circuit of The Americas (COTA) was added to the Grand Prix schedule the following year. Its length of 5.513km and mixture of fast straights and tight hairpins make the track both challenging and exciting to master for teams and riders. They need to find exactly the right balance for their bike's set-up that suits the 11 left and 9 right turns and the 1,200m straight in order to snatch a place on the podium. The especially sharp Turn 1 will be a place where the fans can expect a lot of overtaking action.
MASSIMO MEREGALLI Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team Director
"Brazil was a mixed weekend for us. Friday and Saturday were positive, especially Fabio's strong qualifying and Sprint, but Sunday was tougher. We have now travelled to the US. On paper, COTA might be a tough circuit for us, especially the back part of the track, where the long straight could be critical. With the new bike, it’s still hard to predict how the weekend will unfold. However, we are certain that this race weekend will help drive our learning process forward."
FABIO QUARTARARO Rider, Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP
"Brazil was up and down for us. Saturday felt good, both qualifying and the Sprint, but the rear grip issues on Sunday made it tough. Now we're in the US, and I'll approach this race weekend with an open mind again. I like COTA and Austin a lot. Let's see what we can do, and hopefully we can take a step again."
ÁLEX RINS Rider, Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP
"The Race in Brazil started positive, but once I got stuck behind riders, it was hard to keep the pace. I'm happy to be at COTA again now – I really like this track and the atmosphere, and I have some good memories here. I'm curious to see what we can do this weekend. COTA is demanding, but we are getting to know more about the new bike step by step."
The Grand Prix of the United States is held in the GMT-5 time zone. FP1 will take place on Friday from 10:45-11:30 local track time, followed by the Practice from 15:00-16:00. On Saturday, FP2 will be held from 10:10-10:40, the qualifying sessions from 10:50-11:30, and the 10-lap Sprint starts at 15:00. On Sunday*, Warm Up is held from 10:40-10:50, and the 19-lap Race starts at 15:00.
*In Europe, Day Light Saving Time starts on 29 March at 2:00am (moving the clock forward to 03:00am). The difference between the Central Europe Time (CET) zone and the time in Austin, Texas will increase from 6 hours on the Friday and Saturday to 7 hours on the Sunday.
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team Director