Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP |News details:Quartararo and Rins Gain Direct Entry into Q2 on Portimao Friday

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Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP's Fabio Quartararo and Álex Rins kicked off the Grande Prémio de Portugal weekend with a positive feeling. A cloudy but dry FP1 prepared them for putting the hammer down in an equally overcast afternoon Practice session. The teammates bided their time and pounced at exactly the right moment, when the yellow flags cleared, and ended the day in 9th and 10th place respectively in the classifications, earning them direct places in tomorrow's Q2.

Portimao (Portugal), 22nd March 2024

The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team got straight to work on the Grande Prémio de Portugal Friday. Fabio Quartararo and Álex Rins saved the best for last. After multiple yellow flags during the final stages of the Practice session, the duo perfectly timed their hot laps. They secured 9th and 10th place respectively and will take part in tomorrow's Q2.

Quartararo had put in 20 laps in the morning session to prepare for putting in his bid for a place inside the top 10 in the afternoon. Having finished the morning stint in 11th, he knew he was close to his goal. When the Practice got underway, the Frenchman showed he meant business by featuring inside the top 5 for the first two thirds of the session. Multiple late crashers caused yellow flags in the final stages, making it more challenging to get a clear lap in. El Diablo had to wait for the last few minutes to set a 1’38.552s on lap 19/20, to take ninth place in the Practice timesheets, 0.495s from first. It got him straight into tomorrow's Q2.

Rins was in his element at the Portimao circuit. He was quite literally 'flying' over the hilly circuit during FP1, finishing in seventh place. The steps made in the morning session had the Spaniard feel confident that he would be able to challenge for a spot in Q2. In the afternoon, he put in the needed work throughout the 60-minute Practice and showed his experience when it was hammer time. With yellow flags out on track, he saved his tyres as much as possible before pushing to the limit on his 22nd and final lap. His 1’38.560s put him in 10th place in Practice results, 0.503s from first, earning him a spot in Q2.

Massimo Meregalli

Team Director

We started the Portimao weekend well. Having both our riders inside the top 10 and lined up for Q2 is a job well done. Of course, this is always our aim, but we know that, realistically, that's not so easy to achieve at the moment. The competition is fierce, so we are working on extracting every ounce of performance out of the package we have. The track was a bit dirty today, and usually we struggle in those circumstances, but today we were ok. We started well in FP1, and it allowed Fabio and Álex to be ready to push in those crucial final minutes of the Practice. They both did a great job. The GP is still long, and many things can happen, but a good start on Friday does certainly help.

Fabio Quartararo

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider

It was great to get into Q2. We managed to get in a good lap at the end of the session. We made some mistakes today, and there are a few things to adjust, so hopefully we can use tomorrow morning and we will find that we're a little bit better. I think it's great for Yamaha to see both riders push at their 100% level. I think that Álex and I are pushing each other to be better and that we can do a great job together as we continue to work in this direction. The bike feels quite good but, unfortunately, it rained quite a lot yesterday, and there was a lot of dust, so the track wasn't 'grippy'. But I think it's positive to be in Q2 riding in these conditions, and hopefully tomorrow we can make a big step forward.

Álex Rins

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider

The bike is the same as it was in Qatar. We didn't have time to try new things, but from FP1 on, I felt confident on the bike. This track is quite different from Lusail, and I was able to adapt much quicker. In Practice, I was quite competitive, and I was able to enter Q2. It's a great achievement for me. For a long time, I couldn't be in Q2, also due to the leg issue. It's been many GPs since I was last in Q2, and we have room to improve. We have similar points of improvement as we had in Qatar, so we are gathering information and improving the things we have and try to benefit from this as much as possible.