Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP |News details:Quartararo and Rins Secure Q2 Spots on British GP Friday

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Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP's Fabio Quartararo and Álex Rins impressed on the Grand Prix of the United Kingdom Friday. The duo showed good performance at the Silverstone Circuit early on, claiming direct places in tomorrow's Q2 by finishing this afternoon's Practice in 2nd and 9th place respectively.

Silverstone (United Kingdom), 23rd May 2025

The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team kicked off the Grand Prix of the United Kingdom today at the Silverstone circuit showing solid performance levels. Fabio Quartararo and Álex Rins were both inside the top 10 for most of this afternoon's Practice and went on to secure places in tomorrow's Q2, finishing the session in 2nd and 9th place respectively.

Quartararo had to sit out the first ten minutes of the 45-minute long Free Practice 1 this morning due to a penalty received after the French GP Race for 'irresponsible behaviour', but it didn't slow the Frenchman down. He ended FP1 in seventh place and keen to make another step in the Practice. During the afternoon session, El Diablo proved that he is feeling comfortable with his YZR-M1 when he clocked a 1'57.342s on lap 18/19 that temporarily had him in first place. At the end of the 60 minute session, he finished in second place, 0.047s from first.

Rins is a fan of the Silverstone circuit, and it showed today. Gradually building up his pace in FP1, he secured ninth place. The work he had done in the morning paid off in the afternoon Practice. The Spaniard was pushing early on and frequently featured inside the top 3. However, when the pace quickened in the final ten minutes, the number-42 rider had to apply himself once more. He responded by posting a 1'57.819s on lap 19/20 that earned him ninth place and a spot in Q2, 0.524s from the top of the rankings.

The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team was also cheering on Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP riders Jack Miller and Miguel Oliveira. Miller secured third place in the Practice standings, making it three Yamahas in Q2 for the first time since the 2021 Valencia GP. Oliveira finished in 13th place, missing out on a top-10 placement by just 0.178s.

The teammates will be back in action for FP2, held tomorrow from 11:10-11:40 (GMT+1). The qualifying sessions will follow from 11:50-12:30, and the 10-lap Sprint will start at 16:00.

Massimo Meregalli

Team Director, Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP

"We achieved our goal of having both riders inside Q2. Fabio again set a very impressive lap time, which reflects just how good he is feeling on the bike and how well he is riding in general. It's great to see Álex so competitive as well. He is working hard, and at the private Misano test he seems to have found something to help him feel more comfortable. We know he likes Silverstone a lot, so the team is keen for him to have a good weekend. And it's not just our team that is performing well: Jack Miller is also inside the top-10, and Miguel Oliveira came close too. This underlines that Yamaha is steadily improving and heading in the right direction. However, it's only Friday: no grid positions or points are secured yet. We need to keep working, because we know the competition in Silverstone can be stiff. But we are fully motivated to get good qualifying positions tomorrow and then, hopefully, do well in the Sprint."

Fabio Quartararo

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider

"We can be pretty happy! Especially on one lap, our performance is good. We seem to have improved our one-lap speed this year, and now we're working hard on also making our race pace a bit better. Hopefully, we can find a solution, though I think we will be quite okay here. I was riding with the new aero today, and I think it helped a bit. I also think there's more potential concerning my lap time, especially if the weather is good. Having three Yamahas inside the top 10 today sounds really good. I'm happy that also Álex and Jack are there, and Miguel is coming back too, step by step. Normally, you don't want to see your teammate being that close, you want to have the biggest gap possible. But to see them getting closer and closer to the top is something I really like. This means we have a lot of data to analyse."

Álex Rins

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider

"It was a good day. We were able to be quite competitive. In Free Practice 1 I also felt quite good. It was a long time since I rode here. Last year I only did a few laps before withdrawing from the GP. But today was a good day. In the afternoon Practice, with our hot laps we were able to secure an entry for Q2. It's quite great – three Yamahas in Q2 tomorrow! We are improving the bike compared to last year. The bike is more competitive and more agile, and this is helpful on a hot lap. I feel quite competitive in Sector 3 and 4. We improved our package, but tomorrow we still have work to do. Let's see. If it's dry, I think we can do a good Sprint and then let's try to enjoy the Race."