Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Riders’ Quotes after Qualifying in Qatar
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli took part in today’s Grand Prix of Qatar Q1 session. They ended up in 14th and 18th place respectively in the qualifying classifications.
Lusail (Qatar), 18th November 2023
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team’s Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli will start this afternoon’s Grand Prix of Qatar Sprint and tomorrow’s Race from the fifth and sixth row of the grid respectively.
Quartararo had a moment on his benchmark lap during the 15-minute Q1 shoot-out. He hurried back to the pits after his second try and started his second run with seven minutes remaining. The number-20 was in 12th place at the time, but had three more tries to secure a top-2 spot. He set a 1’52.524s on lap 5/7 which initially put him in second place, with Alex Marquez, who got a tow from him, in first. But it wasn’t to last. The Frenchman soon found himself in third. He continued to push but didn’t set a better time and ended the session in fourth place, 0.142s off the fastest time of Q1. It puts him in 14th place in the qualifying classifications.
Morbidelli left some on-track drama with Aleix Espargaró in FP2 behind him like a true professional and focused on the task ahead. He set a 1’53.207s benchmark in Q1 that put him in second place, before making a quick pit stop. The number-21 rider started his second run with five and a half minutes still on the clock. He was in sixth place then, and though he did better his best effort to a 1’53.143s on lap 5/6, he remained in sixth place with the times still dropping. Unable to shave off more on his last try, he ended the session in eighth, with a 0.761s margin to the Q1 top time. He took 18th place in the overall qualifying rankings.
The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP riders will line up for the 11-lap Sprint this evening at 20:00 GMT +3.
Quartararo had a moment on his benchmark lap during the 15-minute Q1 shoot-out. He hurried back to the pits after his second try and started his second run with seven minutes remaining. The number-20 was in 12th place at the time, but had three more tries to secure a top-2 spot. He set a 1’52.524s on lap 5/7 which initially put him in second place, with Alex Marquez, who got a tow from him, in first. But it wasn’t to last. The Frenchman soon found himself in third. He continued to push but didn’t set a better time and ended the session in fourth place, 0.142s off the fastest time of Q1. It puts him in 14th place in the qualifying classifications.
Morbidelli left some on-track drama with Aleix Espargaró in FP2 behind him like a true professional and focused on the task ahead. He set a 1’53.207s benchmark in Q1 that put him in second place, before making a quick pit stop. The number-21 rider started his second run with five and a half minutes still on the clock. He was in sixth place then, and though he did better his best effort to a 1’53.143s on lap 5/6, he remained in sixth place with the times still dropping. Unable to shave off more on his last try, he ended the session in eighth, with a 0.761s margin to the Q1 top time. He took 18th place in the overall qualifying rankings.
The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP riders will line up for the 11-lap Sprint this evening at 20:00 GMT +3.
Fabio Quartararo
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider
Franco Morbidelli
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider