Quartararo and Rins Secure Q2 Places on Mugello Friday

The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team overcame some setbacks on the Brembo Grand Prix of Italy Friday to achieve their goals. Fabio Quartararo suffered a crash in this afternoon's Practice session, causing partial dislocation of his left shoulder. However, the Frenchman showed his grit and continued putting in fast laps to take fifth place. Álex Rins' focus lay on improving his bike's set-up today. He worked strategically to improve his time-attack speed and secured seventh position. As a result, the duo will take part in tomorrow's Q2 session.

The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team made a solid start to the Brembo Grand Prix of Italy weekend today, tackling the Autodromo del Mugello with fierce determination. Fabio Quartararo showed great speed in the afternoon Practice despite partially dislocating his left shoulder earlier in the session and went on to take fifth in the rankings. Álex Rins also achieved his Friday top-10 target. His hard work was rewarded when he secured a place on the Q2-session entry list, finishing the Practice session in seventh position.

Quartararo debuted a special helmet inspired by a 'How To Train Your Dragon' character (Toothless) and was keen to start flying around the Mugello track. He wrapped up the FP1 session in sixth place. The Frenchman felt competitive and was keeping the momentum going in the afternoon until a crash in Turn 4 complicated matters. El Diablo had partially dislocated his left shoulder, but had it put back in place at the site of the crash. The Yamaha man soon returned to the box to resume action with 34 minutes left on the clock. The number 20 gave a superhuman performance, riding through the pain to consistently feature inside the top 10 regardless. His 1'44.945s, posted on lap 19/19, earned him fifth place, 0.311s from first.

UPDATE: Following the session, Quartararo underwent a medical check-up in Florence. His test results were all good, so he is able to take part in tomorrow's FP2. 

Rins needed some time to adjust his bike's settings to the Mugello track. He ended the morning session in twelfth place, and together with his crew he selected areas where he felt he could improve his pace in the afternoon. The Spaniard then worked hard throughout the Practice to be ready to put his YZR-M1 to the test at the close. When the usual end-of-session time attacks started rolling in, the number 42 had his answer ready. He avoided yellow flags and dug deep to secure a Q2 spot. A 1'45.084s, set on lap 19/22, had him briefly in third place. Though some rivals managed to raise their level, Rins' best time was fast enough to hold him in seventh place, 0.450s from first.

The teammates will be back in action for FP2 held tomorrow from 10:10-10:40 (GMT+2). The qualifying sessions will follow from 10:50-11:30, and the 11-lap Sprint will start at 15:00.