Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Fabio Quartararo extended his championship lead this weekend, finishing an enthralling Spanish Grand Prix in second place. It was a difficult affair for team-mate Franco Morbidelli, who recovered positions in the closing stages to finish 15th. WithU Yamaha RNF Racing MotoGP Team’s Andrea Dovizioso missed out on a points finish, while Darryn Binder suffered an early crash, ultimately retiring to the pits.
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Fabio Quartararo capitalised on the strong pace he had shown all weekend with a podium finish as the MotoGP World Championship returned to Andalucía. The factory Yamaha rider gave his all in a mesmerising fight for victory in front of the returning Spanish fans but narrowly missed out on maximum points, finishing the Spanish Grand Prix in second.
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Having demonstrated blistering pace across Friday’s practice sessions, Quartararo looked certain to be in the hunt for victory. With temperatures higher for Sunday’s 25-lap Grand Prix, a strong start from the middle of the front row saw the Frenchman hold position in the opening stages as he settled into his rhythm.
Locked to the rear wheel of Francesco Bagnaia, it would soon become clear the battle for the victory would be a two-horse race as the duo opened a comfortable gap to the riders behind. Keeping the pressure on the race leader, the Yamaha rider looked to take the lead in the opening half of the race but couldn’t find a way by the Italian.
Knowing his mid-to-late race pace was strong, the Frenchman picked up the pace at the midway stage and began reducing Bagnaia’s lead, bringing the gap down to less than half a second. The 23-year-old was determined to secure his second victory of the season and put on a relentless display, matching the leaders’ lap times in what was an enthralling cat and mouse battle.
Unable to get his Yamaha M1 within striking distance, Quartararo started the final lap just half a second adrift of the race leader. Continuing to close the gap, the Spanish Grand Prix looked set for a grandstand finish, but Quartararo was too far back to pull off a move, finishing second, a narrow 0.285 seconds behind the winner.
It was a difficult affair for Franco Morbidelli who picked up a point for 15th place. The Italian started the Grand Prix in 16th, but a tough start didn’t see the number 21 make the progress he had hoped for in the opening laps. Sitting 16th at the halfway stage, Morbidelli lined up a pass on fellow countryman Luca Marini to claim 15th place. A last lap battle with Maverick Viñales saw the Roman rise to 14th briefly but he dropped back a position at the final corner.
WithU Yamaha RNF Racing’s Andrea Dovizioso and Darryn Binder had counted on their pre-season experience as they returned to Jerez. A tough weekend saw Dovizioso start the Grand Prix from 23rd position and endured a tricky start to the race. Slipping down the order in the first laps, the experienced Italian worked his way back up to the cusp of the top 20 and continued to make progress in the closing stages, ultimately rounding out his Grand Prix in 17th.
Team-mate Darryn Binder enjoyed a strong start to the race and was sitting in the points battle before a turn two crash saw him slide out of 17th position. Re-joining, the South African pushed on, but later retired to the pits, ending his sixth premier class race early.
Claiming 20 World Championship points, Fabio Quartararo sees his championship advantage grow to seven points with an 89 points total. Franco Morbidelli sits 16th with the RNF Racing Yamahas in 20th and 21st place with Dovizioso 2 points ahead of team-mate Binder.
The MotoGP teams are back in action for the post-race test on Monday after which they’ll enjoy a short break before returning to action across the weekend of 13-15th May for the Grand Prix de France at the Le Mans circuit.
Fabio Quartararo – Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP, 2nd
“It was a really tough race. I tried to overtake Pecco on the first lap because I knew that staying behind him was going to be difficult for my front tyre. I tried everything, but he was really fast. I think the pace that we managed today was just insane. My front tyre was superhot, super high pressure. I couldn‘t brake harder, but I could maintain that pace with him. I think the gap to the guys behind us was quite big, so both of us were really fast today. Congratulations to him. It wasn‘t a real battle, because we didn‘t overtake, but it was still an intense race. We enjoyed it a lot.”
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