Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP's Perseverance Pays Off in Mandalika Race
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP's Fabio Quartararo had to be patient in the Grand Prix of Indonesia Race, letting the medium rear tyre get up to temperature. With his pace increasing, he rode to a 7th-place finish. Álex Rins couldn't find a good feeling at the start of the Race either but showed determination and still secured 12th place at the finish line. However, a tyre-pressure infringement penalty for Takaaki Nakagami had Rins ranked 11th in the revised Race classification.
Mandalika (Indonesia), 29th September 2024
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP's Fabio Quartararo needed some time to get up to speed at the Mandalika International Circuit today during the 27-lap Grand Prix of Indonesia Race. Pushing to the limit in extreme heat, he secured 7th place. Álex Rins had a mostly lonely ride, but his efforts were still rewarded. He originally finished in 12th place, earning himself 4 championship points, but he gained another position and a point due to Takaaki Nakagami receiving a post-race tyre-pressure infringement penalty.
Quartararo had a good start from sixth place, holding his position through the opening corners. Struggling to get heat in the medium rear tyre, he was relegated to thirteenth by lap 3. The Frenchman did all he could not to lose touch with the riders ahead of him. On lap 9, Fabio Di Giannantonio crashed out and Marc Marquez suffered a mechanical issue on lap 12, moving El Diablo up to eleventh. By then, Quartararo had heat in the rear tyre and was up to a good rhythm. He overtook Raul Fernandez on lap 14, the beginning of a late charge from the Yamaha rider. He then passed Brad Binder and Johann Zarco, and with Enea Bastianini taking a fall seven laps before the end, the number 20 was in seventh place at the chequered flag, 13.203s behind the winner.
Rins was keen to make up ground, starting from P15. He was in 14th place, right ahead of a rider pile up in Sector 1 of the opening lap. After the lucky escape, he briefly found himself in 13th place before dropping to 16th due to a lack of heat in the rear tyre. Though his pace gradually improved, he lost a position to Joan Mir on lap 6. The Yamaha man kept his head down though because in MotoGP you never know what will happen, especially in extreme heat. Di Giannantonio, Mir, and Bastianini crashed out, and Marc Marquez and Augusto Fernandez were forced to retire from the Race. The misfortunes of others had the number-42 rider circulating in 12th place in what became a lonely race. He held the position all the way to the finish line, crossing it 33.633s from first. A post-race 16-second tyre-pressure infringement penalty for Nakagami saw Rins move up to 11th in the revised Race timesheets.
Today's results see Quartararo hold 13th place in the overall standings with 82 points. Rins is now in joint-19th position with 20 points. Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP keep their 9th place in the team championship with 102 points, and Yamaha hold on to 4th position in the constructor's championship with 93 points.
MotoGP will be back in action next week at the Mobility Resort Motegi for the Grand Prix of Japan.
Quartararo had a good start from sixth place, holding his position through the opening corners. Struggling to get heat in the medium rear tyre, he was relegated to thirteenth by lap 3. The Frenchman did all he could not to lose touch with the riders ahead of him. On lap 9, Fabio Di Giannantonio crashed out and Marc Marquez suffered a mechanical issue on lap 12, moving El Diablo up to eleventh. By then, Quartararo had heat in the rear tyre and was up to a good rhythm. He overtook Raul Fernandez on lap 14, the beginning of a late charge from the Yamaha rider. He then passed Brad Binder and Johann Zarco, and with Enea Bastianini taking a fall seven laps before the end, the number 20 was in seventh place at the chequered flag, 13.203s behind the winner.
Rins was keen to make up ground, starting from P15. He was in 14th place, right ahead of a rider pile up in Sector 1 of the opening lap. After the lucky escape, he briefly found himself in 13th place before dropping to 16th due to a lack of heat in the rear tyre. Though his pace gradually improved, he lost a position to Joan Mir on lap 6. The Yamaha man kept his head down though because in MotoGP you never know what will happen, especially in extreme heat. Di Giannantonio, Mir, and Bastianini crashed out, and Marc Marquez and Augusto Fernandez were forced to retire from the Race. The misfortunes of others had the number-42 rider circulating in 12th place in what became a lonely race. He held the position all the way to the finish line, crossing it 33.633s from first. A post-race 16-second tyre-pressure infringement penalty for Nakagami saw Rins move up to 11th in the revised Race timesheets.
Today's results see Quartararo hold 13th place in the overall standings with 82 points. Rins is now in joint-19th position with 20 points. Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP keep their 9th place in the team championship with 102 points, and Yamaha hold on to 4th position in the constructor's championship with 93 points.
MotoGP will be back in action next week at the Mobility Resort Motegi for the Grand Prix of Japan.
Massimo Meregalli
Team Director
Fabio Quartararo
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider
All weekend, we were not able to warm the medium rear tyre up fast. We lost many seconds because of that at the beginning of the Race. The pace was really good though. We went with the hard-medium front, and I was able to brake super late and overtake, but I'm not super happy about the result. I was fast and finished closer to the riders ahead, which is positive. We are working and improving step by step. We have been in Q2 two race weekends in a row, and we got P7 in the last two Races, so we are heading in the right way. But rather than focusing on positions, I think we need to focus on how fast we are going, and today we had good speed.
Álex Rins
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider
I lost a lot of positions on the first lap. I went into corner 7 without using the throttle and completely lost the rear. We knew that it was going to be hard for us to warm up the rear tyre, to get temperature into it, but it was even harder than we expected. We started the Friday quite well, but we couldn't make the progress we wanted. Saturday was hard, and also today was quite tough. So, we need to check what happened, and we need to analyse the data. But I'm looking forward to the next race weekend, which is luckily already next week. So, let's jump on the bike again in Japan.
*After a post-Race penalty for Nakagami