Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP

Quartararo and Rins End Sepang Test Day 1 in 9th and 16th Place, Quartararo To Sit Out Remainder of the Sepang Test

Following the Sepang Shakedown Test held last week, the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team returned to the Sepang International Circuit today to resume their 2026 pre-season programme. Riders Fabio Quartararo and Álex Rins completed the first day of the three-day Malaysia MotoGP Official Test in 9th and 16th place respectively. Following a heavy crash this morning in Session 1, Quartararo will not take part in the remainder of the test due to a broken finger.

MALAYSIA MOTOGP OFFICIAL TEST

TEST

Sepang (Malaysia), 3rd February, 2026

9th

F. QUARTARARO
1'57.869 (Session 2) / 8+16 LAPS

16th

Á. RINS
1'58.320 (Session 1) / 28+13 LAPS

Today, Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP teammates Fabio Quartararo and Álex Rins kicked off the three-day Malaysia MotoGP Official Test in Sepang, placing 9th and 16th respectively on the combined Day 1 timesheets.

On Day 1 of the Sepang Test, Session 1 ran from 10:00-13:00 (GMT+8), followed by Session 2 from 13:20-18:00.

Quartararo's day did not start as planned. He crashed at Turn 8 on lap 9 and had to visite the Clinica Mobile for checks. He returned in the afternoon but suffered a second fall, which briefly interrupted his programme. Despite the setbacks, the Frenchman recovered well, setting a best lap of 1'57.869s to finish eighth in the afternoon session and ninth overall, 0.851s from the top.

Rins enjoyed a solid start in the morning, briefly topping the timesheets at 11:00 with a 1'58.576s before improving further to a 1'58.320s to end Session 1 in sixth place. The Spaniard spent the afternoon analysing components and did not improve his lap time, but his morning effort secured him 16th in the combined standings, 1.302s from first.

Fully supported by Yamaha, Quartararo has decided to sit out the remainder of the Sepang Test and will fly to Barcelona for further medical evaluation in order to be fully fit for the Thailand MotoGP Official Test held from 21-22 February in Buriram.

Tomorrow, the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team will resume action with Rins for Day 2 of the Sepang Test, again with Session 1 taking place from 10:00–13:00 and Session 2 from 13:20–18:00 local track time. Augusto Fernández will continue the bike development of the new YZR-M1 in Quartararo's absence.

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MASSIMO MEREGALLI
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team Director

"This is, of course, not how we wanted to start the test. Unfortunately, Fabio suffered a severe crash in Session 1 at Turn 5, which has brought his Sepang testing programme to an end. In agreement with Fabio, we decided that taking any additional risks was not worthwhile. Having Fabio back to full fitness in time for the Buriram Test is the priority. Everyone at Yamaha and the entire team wish him a speedy recovery. In the meantime, Augusto Fernández will substitute for Fabio over the next two days in order to complete the plan scheduled for the remainder of the Sepang test."

FABIO QUARTARARO
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider

"I broke a finger in the crash this morning. I will have a check-up the day after tomorrow in Barcelona. We already tested what we needed to during last week's Shakedown Test. Of course, having two more days would have been helpful for electronics and mapping, but I think we've done enough, so I prefer to sit out the remainder of the test. Together with Yamaha, we decided to stop and focus on recovery so I can be 100% fit again in Buriram."

ÁLEX RINS
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider

"Having already completed the Shakedown Test here last week, today we finished testing the most important items that Yamaha brought here for us to try. It was a good day. We decided to focus on the swingarms, testing three different kinds. It was quite good. Over the next two days, we will focus a bit more on the bike's base set-up. Let's see what lap time we can achieve on the final day."