Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Start Austin Adventure
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP's Fabio Quartararo and Álex Rins struggled to make strides on the Friday of the Grand Prix of the United States. The teammates completed the afternoon Practice in P15 and P21 respectively.
GRAND PRIX OF THE AMERICAS
PRACTICE
Austin (Texas, USA), 27th March 2026
15th
F. Quartararo 2'02.037 / 20 LAPS
21st
Á. Rins 2'03.038 / 14 LAPS
The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team had a tough Friday at the sunny but technically challenging and physically demanding Circuit of The Americas (COTA). Fabio Quartararo and Álex Rins finished the Practice in 15th and 21st place respectively. They will both take part in tomorrow's Q1 session.
Quartararo showed great dedication on the Friday. The Frenchman completed FP1 in P18, and while the afternoon Practice also proved a challenge, he did find an improvement. The 2'02.037s he set on lap 20/20 put him in P15 in the timesheets.
Rins had finished FP1 in 15th place. The Spaniard really likes COTA, and was keen to improve in the afternoon. He spent the track time deciding between his two bikes with very different set-ups. However, he was ultimately unable to ride his preferred bike in the time attack at the end of the session. The number 42 set a 2'03.038s on lap 14/14. It had him rank 21st in the Practice classifications.
The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team will be back in action tomorrow for the Saturday MotoGP sessions: FP2 will be held from 10:10-10:40 (GMT-5), followed by the qualifying sessions from 10:50-11:30, and the 10-lap Sprint that starts at 15:00.
FABIO QUARTARARO Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider
"There were a lot of yellow flags in the beginning of the Practice session this afternoon. I think that everybody expected the grip levels to be similar to this morning, but I felt like the track was actually better in the morning, and that made the first 20 minutes of the Practice difficult. We're trying to understand how we can amend the bike set-up to get a better feeling."
ÁLEX RINS Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider
"We tried two very different settings; we had two different bikes. With bike number two, I felt a bit better in today's slippery conditions. I felt a bit more handling and better turning. But when we put on the new tyres for the time attack, I was not able to go out on my preferred bike. Let's see if we can make a step tomorrow."
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider