Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP‘s Fabio Quartararo bounced back from a disappointing Sprint race he raised his game to another level to take third place, his first podium of the season. Franco Morbidelli had a lonely ride in eighth position across the finish line.

Quartararo had a good start from seventh on the grid and was in fourth place after the opening lap. After battling with Luca Marini, the Yamaha man managed to break away to put pressure on Jack Miller in third position.

Both Miller and Francesco Bagnaia crashed out of the race, moving El Diablo into second place. Quartararo tried to make his ride as wide as to get to second but in the end, had to settle for third. He concentrated on finishing the race in third place without making any mistakes as he finally crossed the line 4.936s from first.

Morbidelli started from fourteenth and ended the opening lap in 11th place. As multiple riders crashed out, Morbido found himself in the eighth position by lap 11.

The race became a lonely experience for the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP rider, but he stayed 100% focused to secure the eight points. He kept pushing and took the chequered flag in eighth place, 20.399s from the race leader.

With this result, Quartararo climbed up to 7th in the overall standings with 34 points. Morbidelli is in 10th place with 29 points. The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team move to 4th place in the team championship with 63 points, and Yamaha is in fifth in the constructor‘s championship with 43 points.

Final Positions after the race.

3rd

FABIO QUARTARARO

+4.936 / 20 LAPS

8th

FRANCO MORBIDELLI

+20.399 / 20 LAPS

MASSIMO MEREGALLI

Team Director              

We got our first podium of the season today! Fabio always gives 100%, but today he gave 10% more, if possible. He rode a smart race: aggressive at the start and clever towards the end. It’s great to see him back on the podium. It’s a well-deserved reward for him and the team after all the hard work. Franco Morbidelli also made a good step compared to yesterday. Though there are still areas to improve, he was able to recover ground in the first lap and he completed the race with solid points. All in all, we leave Austin with a morale boost, and now we are looking forward to starting the European leg of the season in two weeks‘ time.

FABIO QUARTARARO

It was really tough. I was struggling, but I had to fight hard on the first laps because the podium wouldn’t be possible if I lost positions in the opening stages. I did my best, and I’m really happy because I’m coming back after a few really tough races. You know, the team works so hard, and they try to keep me calm – that’s not an easy job. It feels good to be back in parc fermé, and hopefully more of these visits will be coming.

FRANCO MORBIDELLI

This was definitely a better race and better performance than yesterday. The starting position didn’t help at all. We lost our chances on Friday by not getting directly into Q2, and we started from too far behind. We worked a lot to climb our way up. It’s nice that we were able to have a decent performance in qualifying and in today’s Race. We need to take this eighth place, and we need to take the good improvements and the data we have gathered here. We will arrive in Jerez nice and sharp and ready to battle.                     

Media Source: Yamaha press.office@ymr.it