Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Franco Morbidelli and Fabio Quartararo have qualified in 14th and 16th place respectively for this afternoon’s Sprint and tomorrow’s Race at the Circuito de Jerez - Ángel Nieto.
Jerez de la Frontera (Spain), 29th April 2023
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Franco Morbidelli and Fabio Quartararo will start the Gran Premio MotoGP de España Sprint and Race from 14th and 16th position on the grid respectively.

Morbidelli found an improvement in the Free Practice and made use of it during the very competitive qualifying. He used an extra lap to get into the rhythm in Q1, but then moved inside the top 4 before heading back to the pits for a fresh set of tyres. When he returned on track, he had time for three more tries before the end of the 15-minute shoot-out. He improved to a 1’36.793s, set on lap 6/8, 0.300s from first. The result sees him in 14th place on the grid.

Quartararo’s benchmark lap in Q1 put him in first place with a 0.051s margin. It was short-lived though and as the pace quickened, the Yamaha man had to push. A 1’37.116s on lap three got him back up to second place. But after all the riders had made their pit stop, the level rose. El Diablo responded bravely but was unable to remain inside the top 2. His 1’37.072s, set on lap 6/8, had him finish the session in sixth place, 0.579s from the top in Q1. He will start the Sprint and the Race from 16th position on the grid.
Franco Morbidelli

Franco Morbidelli

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider

It was a tough qualifying because we were not able to get into Q2, unfortunately. The gap is very tight, but we know that with the new tyres, our potential is not like that of the other guys. We tried, but we couldn't get into Q2. We will have to see. The pace, from our starting position, can be interesting or not, it really depends on what happens. The main thing is that we need to keep digging to increase our potential with new tyres.
Fabio Quartararo

Fabio Quartararo

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider

Unfortunately, it was again a tough qualifying session for us. To be honest, I expected to be able to do much better today at this circuit, which is special for me, also considering the lower temperature this morning. But we have not been able to get into Q2. Obviously, I’m not happy with the result, but now we can fully focus on doing a good Sprint, so we see what potential we have for tomorrow.