Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP |News details:Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Grit Teeth in Difficult British GP Sprint

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It was a Saturday to forget for the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team. Franco Morbidelli had a difficult start to the 10-lap Sprint at the wet Silverstone circuit but salvaged a 15th place. Fabio Quartararo started from P22 and struggled to gain momentum. He finished in P21.

Silverstone (UK), 5th August 2023

Rain dampened the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team’s hopes of making waves on the Monster Energy British Grand Prix Super Saturday. After a tricky qualifying, the conditions remained wet for the afternoon’s 10-lap Sprint. Franco Morbidelli let the conditions come to him and, after a difficult opening, rode from P18 to P15. Fabio Quartararo had to start from the back of the grid and didn’t feel in his element. He wrapped up the Sprint in 21st place.

Morbidelli found himself squashed in the busy mid-pack on the opening lap of the 10-lap Sprint. He settled into 16th place before getting into a tussle with Fabio Di Giannantonio and Raul Fernandez. Relegated to 18th, the Italian responded. He overtook Marc Marquez with six laps remaining and began to challenge Pol Espargaró for 16th on the next lap. In the end the Italian came out victorious. With one lap to go, he made a spurt past Raul Fernandez to grab 15th place. He held the position until the chequered flag, finishing 27.191s from first.

Quartararo initially had a good start from P22 and gained two positions on the opening lap, but then he had a moment and crossed the start-finish straight for the first time in 22nd place. The Frenchman had to start from scratch again. He managed to pick up a place by overtaking Iker Lecuona but was unable to get hold of Takaaki Nakagami ahead of him. The Yamaha man ended the Sprint in 21st place, 30.326s from the race leader.

Today’s results put Quartararo in 10th in the overall standings with 64 points. Morbidelli is now in 12th place with 57 points. The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team stay in 6th place in the team championship with 121 points, and Yamaha remain 5th in the constructor’s championship with 82 points.

The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP teammates will be back in action tomorrow for Warm Up at 09:45 local track time (GMT +1) and the Race at 13:00.

Massimo Meregalli

Team Director

From the morning session on, we knew that today was going to be difficult. Franky had a good feeling in the wet, and his performance in Q1 in very tricky conditions was impressive. It allowed him through to Q2 and ultimately earned him 11th on the grid. It’s a shame he didn’t have the start to the Sprint he had hoped for, so he lost momentum on the first lap. However, we did see him put in some overtakes, showing that his feeling with the bike was good, so we can build onto this setting should the conditions be similar for tomorrow’s Race. All in all, it was a day to forget for Fabio. He didn’t have a good feeling in the wet, and he pulled off a huge save in Q1. We are relieved that he didn’t get hurt, because it could have been a nasty crash. But even without a fall, the opportunity to get a good lap in was lost. It put him at the back of the grid, which was very unlucky. He felt a little better towards the end of the Sprint, but it wasn't enough, so we have work to do for tomorrow.

Franco Morbidelli

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider

We will take it. The competition out there is tough, but we tried to get the maximum in the Sprint. There was the potential to do more, but it was very tricky. I tried to do the maximum and to understand where we can improve for tomorrow. That’s what I did today. The Race tomorrow will probably be in dry conditions. It’s going to be very tough again, but we are here to do our best and score points, and that’s what I will try to do.

Fabio Quartararo

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider

I’ve had better days. It was really cold this morning, and the feeling was bad during FP2. Then in the qualifying I made a mistake, the bike stopped, and I went back to the box. I could have done better. During the Sprint, I was riding with an undersuit to stay warm. I never liked to use it in the past, but it was that cold today. My pace at the end of the Sprint was good enough to be with the guys in front of me, but I’m missing something. I know how to ride in the rain, but we’re mainly missing rear grip and leaning angle. Starting from the back again tomorrow, we will need to try something totally different. We have nothing to lose. My priority right now is to try to improve, try to be more towards the front, and hopefully try to make an improvement in the Race.