Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP |News details:Determined Quartararo Delivers Q2 Result on Motegi Friday

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The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team have started their manufacturer's home GP at the Mobility Resort Motegi today. Fabio Quartararo and Álex Rins both made progress between the FP1 and the Practice session. They ended the first day of the Grand Prix of Japan event in P8 and P19 respectively.

Mobility Resort Motegi (Japan), 26th September 2025

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP's Fabio Quartararo's drive for success was rewarded in today's Grand Prix of Japan Practice session. Going all out in the time attack, he secured eighth place and a direct spot in Q2. Álex Rins booked progress on the Friday at the Mobility Resort Motegi but missed out on a top-10 result in the afternoon session. He ended the Practice in 19th place, which puts him on the entry list for Q1.

Quartararo ranked sixteenth in the FP1 timesheets this morning after using up less-preferred tyre options, which meant the Frenchman could make a big step in the one-hour afternoon outing. He hopped right to it and clocked a provisional fastest time that allowed him to hold the top spot from 28 minutes into the session until there were only 13 minutes left on the clock. He was pushing hard, but a big moment lost him a hot lap and valuable time. El Diablo pulled off a great save and navigated his way out of the gravel trap to continue his quest. After an extra pit stop and some yellow flags, he had one more opportunity and took it with both hands. He secured eighth place with a 1'43.594s set on lap 26/26, to finish the day 0.401s from first.

Rins had finished the morning session in twenty-second place and spent most of the afternoon Practice tweaking the bike's set-up. The Spaniard showed great improvement in the final stages and briefly held a spot in the top 10. He continued to push in the very competitive time attack. In between multiple yellow flags, he managed to better his time but not his placement. His 1'44.013s, set on lap 18/21, saw him finish in 19th place, 0.820s from today's fastest time.

The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team will be back in action tomorrow for the Saturday MotoGP sessions: FP2 will be held from 10:10-10:40 GMT+9, followed by the qualifying sessions from 10:50-11:30, and the 12-lap Sprint that starts at 15:00.

Massimo Meregalli

Team Director, Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP

"Today we made the first steps forward at the Motegi track. We didn’t start off on the right foot, but we were able to turn it around, showing good pace on both the medium and the soft rear tyres. Fabio was leading the session for a significant period of time. Though he had a big moment on one of his flying laps, he responded well and, after an additional pit stop, he still got a hot lap in despite various yellow flags in the final minutes. Securing a direct spot in Q2 after challenging Fridays in the two previous GP weekends is a positive sign. On the other side of the garage, Álex made steady progress throughout the day, focusing on set-up refinement. His final position does not fully reflect the improvements he made because he encountered yellow flags on all his hot laps towards the end, but the data he gathered today will help us prepare for tomorrow's sessions. Overall, the team remains focused on optimizing performance and consistency for both riders as we prepare for qualifying and the Sprint."

Fabio Quartararo

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider

"The conditions were normal, I would say. This morning, we didn't want to use the right tyre, the medium. Everybody was on the soft and the hard to save tyres. For me, this afternoon was quite okay. I'm happy to be inside the top 10. It's better to be directly in Q2 on the Friday, because we know how difficult it is to go through Q1 on the Saturday morning. We will continue to work on pace consistency for this weekend. We are working a lot, and hopefully we can make a step."

Álex Rins

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider

"It wasn't bad. At certain points during the Practice, I thought it was possible to maybe go through to Q2 because we were doing great. I was so close to the top, but in the end it was difficult. I was also missing some tenths because there were yellow flags on the second flying lap on the last tyre. I gave it my best. I improved on my best lap time here last year, so let's keep working to improve a little bit more. Let's see what we can do tomorrow."