Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli have qualified in 11th and 17th place respectively for this afternoon’s Sprint and tomorrow’s Race at the Grande Prémio de Portugal.
Portimao (Portugal), 25th March 2023
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli will start the first ever Sprint of MotoGP, held this afternoon at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, from 11th and 17th place on the grid respectively. These qualifying results also decide the grid positions for tomorrow’s race.

Quartararo took part in Q2. His 1’38.020s, clocked on lap 3, put him in fifth place before entering the pits. There was a flurry of activity in the final minutes. Despite posting a 1’37.920s on lap 7/7, he wasn’t able to better his position and ended the session in 11th place, 0.694s from first.

Morbidelli featured inside the top 5 on his first run in Q1 with a 1’38.335s set on lap 2. He returned back on track with five minutes remaining but was unable to improve his time on the second run. He ended the session in seventh place, 0.660s from the top in the Q1 results.
Fabio Quartararo

Fabio Quartararo

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider

It was not the qualifying result we expected. The others made a big improvement. We are struggling and have to push to the limit. Starting the Sprint and Race from 11th won't be easy, but I will do my best as always.
Franco Morbidelli

Franco Morbidelli

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider

We made a big step compared to yesterday, but it is not enough. We need to keep working and keep digging to close the gap to the front guys. It's challenging, but I know we can do it. The race is going to be very exciting. The pace was not so bad this morning, it was good, but we start from far behind. Let's see.