Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP |News details:Uphill Battle for Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP on Portimão Friday

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Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP's Fabio Quartararo and Álex Rins kicked off the Grand Prix of Portugal weekend in somewhat mixed conditions. The teammates pushed to the limit at an overcast Autódromo Internacional do Algarve and ended the day in 13th and 18th place respectively in the classifications, putting them on tomorrow's Q1 entry list.

Portimão (Portugal), 7 November 2025

The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team got straight to work on the Grand Prix of Portugal Friday. Fabio Quartararo and Álex Rins used FP1 and most of the Practice to prepare for a tense shoot-out. They ended the afternoon session in 13th and 18th place respectively and will take part in tomorrow's Q1.

Quartararo finished FP1 in P11 and was keen to push in the afternoon session. When the Practice got underway, the Frenchman showed he meant business by featuring inside the top 10 until the final 20 minutes. However, crucially, some light rain started to fall just when El Diablo was due to begin his time attack, making it more challenging to find the limit on his hot laps. Quartararo was 13th at the time and had to push. He set a 1'38.717s, which temporarily had him rank fourth, but with 6 minutes left, he was nudged outside the top 10. Though he responded by clocking a 1'38.598s on lap 21/23, he ended up in 13th place in the Practice timesheets, 0.624s from first.

Rins wrapped up FP1 in P16 and was keen to make further steps in the afternoon. The Spaniard worked diligently during the 60-minute Practice and showed his fondness of the Portimão track. He climbed up to 11th, but with 16 minutes to go, spots of rains started to fall, making track conditions more difficult to assess during the time attacks. The number-42 rider put in several more attempts, but he wasn't able to get into the 1'38s. His 1'39.070s, set on lap 15/23, put him in 18th place in the Practice results, 1.096s from the top.

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+0, followed by the qualifying sessions from 10:50-11:30, and the 12-lap Sprint, which starts at 15:00.

Massimo Meregalli

Team Director, Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP

"We faced more challenges than anticipated at the start of the Portimão weekend. Today's results reflect the poor track conditions. Unfortunately, we had sudden rain in both session which didn't help either. Compared to our rivals we tend to struggle more in low-grip conditions, making it a complicated first day. While Fabio still came close to a top-10 result and both riders gave their maximum effort, we remain too far from the front. The level of competition is extremely high, so we are focused on extracting every ounce of performance from our package. The team is committed to supporting the riders as they prepare for a highly competitive Q1 and Sprint. Looking ahead, the forecast for the coming days is sunnier, or at least should provide fully dry sessions, allowing us to work under more consistent conditions."

Fabio Quartararo

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider

"We are struggling quite a bit. This is a track where grip is very important. When everything is set up right, as a rider you can enjoy riding here like it's a roller coaster. This is a track I really like, but today my feeling was not great on the bike, so we have to analyse it. We have to try to find a solution for tomorrow to improve our feeling a bit."

Álex Rins

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider

"This is a demanding track, and if you make a mistake, like when we missed corner 1 in the Practice, the whole lap is cancelled. Today, we struggled with a mix of problems, maybe because of the low grip and the mixed conditions. Today's weather out on track was not ideal for us. But we need to stay positive. Let's see if tomorrow we can do better, especially for the Sprint with more grip on track."