Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP‘s Fabio Quartararo made the most of the Yamaha YZR-M1‘s speed at the Mandalika International Circuit on the Grand Prix of Indonesia Race day. Pushing to the limit, he secured a strong third place. Franco Morbidelli lost time when he needed to make a pit stop at the end of the second lap. However, he later headed back out on track to pick up 14th place and 2 championship points.
Quartararo had a great start from P4 on the grid and slotted into third place on the opening lap. Unable to match the pace of the front two riders, he decided on defending his position with a group of rivals bunched up behind him. He held onto third for just about two laps before he got engulfed by the charging riders. He settled into sixth place, and moved up to fifth on lap 6 when Brad Binder completed a long-lap penalty.
Around the mid-way stage, Quartararo was in his element. The hot and tough riding conditions were no issue for the Frenchman. He rode toward Aleix Espargaró and overtook him on lap 13 for fourth. On the same lap, race leader Jorge Martin crashed, putting the number-20 rider onto the podium. Lap-by-lap the Yamaha man was reeling in the front-runners fast, but ultimately couldn‘t find a way through on Maverick Viñales. Though it certainly wasn‘t for lack of trying, he finished the race in third place, 0.127s from second and 0.433s from first.
Starting from P15, Morbidelli was keen to make up ground. He had a good launch off the grid, but following some chaos in the first sector, he found himself at the back of the pack in the opening lap. Soon after, he realised that he had an electronics problem and decided to enter the pits after lap 2. He managed to rejoin the race, albeit four laps behind the rest. Nevertheless, Morbido‘s perseverance was rewarded. Displaying good speed and with other riders crashing out, the Italian was gradually climbing up the rankings and finished as high as 14th place, earning himself two championship points despite the earlier misfortunes.
Today‘s results see Quartararo keep 10th place in the overall standings with 132 points. Morbidelli remains in 12th with 79 points. The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team stay 6th in the team championship with 211 points, and Yamaha is now in 4th position in the constructor‘s championship with 152 points.
The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP duo will be back in action next week for the MotoGP Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, held at the Phillip Island Circuit, from 20th – 22nd October.
