Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Push On in Challenging COTA Sprint

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP's Fabio Quartararo recovered from P16 on the grid to P11 at the chequered flag in today's 10-lap Grand Prix of the United States Sprint. Despite a small crash in Turn 1, Álex Rins was able to continue his race and finished in P16.

GRAND PRIX OF THE AMERICAS

SPRINT

Austin (Texas, USA), 28th March 2026

11th

F. Quartararo
+13.757 / 10 LAPS

16th

Á. Rins
+51.120 / 10 LAPS

Today Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP's Fabio Quartararo benefited from the misfortunes of others in the 10-lap Grand Prix of the United States Sprint, finishing in 11th place. Álex Rins suffered a small crash near the end of the race in Turn 1, but he still took 16th position at the chequered flag.

Quartararo launched from P16. The Frenchman had a decent start but struggled to make up ground. However, he still moved up the order due to various rivals hitting the deck. El Diablo rode a clean race and finished in 11th place, 13.757s from first.

Rins commenced the Sprint from P21 and managed to negotiate the busy opening laps and climb up to P17. He was riding in P15 and battling in the mid-pack when he suffered a small crash in Turn 1 with two laps to go. Quickly back on his way, he crossed the finish line in P16, 51.120s from the winner.

Today’s Sprint results put Quartaro in 16th place in the championship standings with 6 points. Rins is in 18th with 3 points. Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP are in 10th position in the team classifications, with 9 points, and Yamaha is fifth in the contructor rankings with 8 points.

The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team will be back in action on Sunday for Warm Up, held from 10:40-10:50 (GMT-5), and the 19-lap Race, which starts at 15:00.

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MASSIMO MEREGALLI
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team Director

"It was an overcast Saturday, but despite the cooler conditions we witnessed many crashes in today's Sprint, underlining how difficult the riding conditions were. COTA is always a tricky circuit for us, and this weekend has been challenging, as we expected. Our riders are further down the grid than we would like, and our pace is not fast enough. Nevertheless, Fabio, Álex, and the entire team are pushing hard to make the most of a difficult situation. We will analyse today's data carefully to prepare for tomorrow's 19-lap Race, which will be demanding for the riders due to the unique characteristics of this track. We'll keep working to extract every bit of performance we can."

FABIO QUARTARARO
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider

"I was expecting a worse pace, if I'm honest – especially after Moto2. But I also think everyone was faster than I expected. It's tough this weekend. I also had a bit of a weird crash earlier today, but I'm okay."

ÁLEX RINS
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider

"It's a tough weekend so far. It's difficult to manage the bike and the grip. I gave it my 100% but still qualified in last position, that was not nice. In the Sprint race we improved the turning slightly. I was riding behind Jack [Miller] when I lost the front."