Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Evaluate Tyre Options on German GP Friday
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Copyrights 2022 Yamaha Motor Racing Srl
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli started the Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland with high motivation, but getting the hard-spec tyres to work at the Sachsenring proved challenging. They secured 7th and 15th place respectively. With the top-17 riders setting times within 0.897s of each other, the heat is on this weekend.
Sachsenring (Germany), 17th June 2022
The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team started Round 10 of the MotoGP World Championship at the Sachsenring looking for a solid base set-up suiting the twisty track and evaluating different tyre options. Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli secured 7th and 15th place respectively in the combined FP results.
Quartararo made steady progress in the morning session. He gradually found his pace on his first run and began to dip under the 1’22s-mark. He worked himself up to second place with a 1’21.557s on lap 11/25. He used his second run to improve his race set-up and ended FP1 in third place, 0.078s from first.
El Diablo used the hot afternoon session to find a good feeling on the hard-spec tyres, but he didn’t feel like he could ride on the limit yet. He improved his time to a 1’20.399s on lap 22/22 when he fitted a soft rear tyre and found more than a second compared to his morning result. He ended the first day in Saxony in seventh place, 0.381s off the fastest time.
Morbidelli was pleased to confirm some of his findings from the Catalan Test during the Friday session. He wrapped up his first run at the Sachsenring by setting a best morning time of 1’21.939s on lap 9/27. At the time it earned him a top-10 placement. He ultimately completed FP1 in 14th position, 0.460s from the top.
Like his teammate, the number-21 rider shifted to the hard tyres in the afternoon to establish if it was a good option for the race. He too found that the hard tyre wasn’t working as well for him compared to the medium option in the cooler morning session. Still, the Italian shaved off more than a second of his morning time. He clocked a 1’20.856s on lap 19/21, which left him 15th and 0.838s off the P1 time.
Quartararo made steady progress in the morning session. He gradually found his pace on his first run and began to dip under the 1’22s-mark. He worked himself up to second place with a 1’21.557s on lap 11/25. He used his second run to improve his race set-up and ended FP1 in third place, 0.078s from first.
El Diablo used the hot afternoon session to find a good feeling on the hard-spec tyres, but he didn’t feel like he could ride on the limit yet. He improved his time to a 1’20.399s on lap 22/22 when he fitted a soft rear tyre and found more than a second compared to his morning result. He ended the first day in Saxony in seventh place, 0.381s off the fastest time.
Morbidelli was pleased to confirm some of his findings from the Catalan Test during the Friday session. He wrapped up his first run at the Sachsenring by setting a best morning time of 1’21.939s on lap 9/27. At the time it earned him a top-10 placement. He ultimately completed FP1 in 14th position, 0.460s from the top.
Like his teammate, the number-21 rider shifted to the hard tyres in the afternoon to establish if it was a good option for the race. He too found that the hard tyre wasn’t working as well for him compared to the medium option in the cooler morning session. Still, the Italian shaved off more than a second of his morning time. He clocked a 1’20.856s on lap 19/21, which left him 15th and 0.838s off the P1 time.
Massimo Meregalli
Team Director
Fabio Quartararo
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider
Franco Morbidelli
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider