QUARTARARO TAKES YAMAHA’S BEST GRAND PRIX RESULT SINCE JULY

Fabio Quartararo gave Yamaha one of its most encouraging Grand Prix Sundays in months at the Indonesian MotoGP, finishing ninth after starting 12th. It was his best race result since taking seventh at the German Grand Prix in July, and he ended just 0.159 seconds behind Fabio di Giannantonio in the fight for eighth.

Quartararo said he was pleased with the performance, despite finding the opening stages difficult. “I was struggling a lot the first five laps, but I could maintain my position, and I think it was quite a great result,” he said. The race was hot and physically demanding, but he kept pushing after noticing that di Giannantonio was struggling. Quartararo felt one more lap might have given him a chance to pass, though he added that he had worn out his tyres over the final five laps.

The Frenchman built his way forward with consistent pace and, late in the race, matched the speed of the leading Aprilias as he closed on the Ducati. His ninth place also matched his Sprint result, which came after Raul Fernandez and Marco Bezzecchi collided at Turn 1.

Quartararo said changing track conditions after the Moto2 and Moto3 races were not a major problem for him. He did have difficulty stopping at Turns 1 and 10, but said his front-end feel remained good enough to compensate. Yamaha had limited running on the medium rear tyre during the weekend, he noted, so some variation was to be expected.

“I was having some issues stopping in turn one and turn ten, but my feeling with the front was not too bad, so I could compensate a bit,” he said. “For sure there are always some details. We did not ride a lot this weekend with the medium [rear tyre], so things can happen like that.”

Team-mate Alex Rins was the next-best Yamaha, six places behind Quartararo, after struggling with inconsistent engine braking and traction control. Team principal Massimo Meregalli praised Quartararo’s effort across the race, saying he held his position while making progress through the field. He added that the rider came close to eighth, evidence that Yamaha’s race pace was competitive.

The result comes as Quartararo begins the final five rounds of his Yamaha career. The 2021 world champion, who is 14th in the standings, is set to join Honda for the new 850cc and Pirelli era. Honda’s leading finisher in Indonesia was Luca Marini, who placed 12th.