14 Apr, 2024
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP's Fabio Quartararo bounced back from a disappointing start to the Grand Prix of The Americas MotoGP Race by riding from P20 after lap 1 to P12. Álex Rins had a strong start but couldn't defend his position. He suffered a luckless crash on lap 11 that ended his race.
Austin (Texas, USA), 14th April 2024: The 20-lap Grand Prix of The Americas was a challenging outing for the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team. Fabio Quartararo had to make up the ground he lost on the opening lap and recovered to P12. Álex Rins crashed on lap 11, ending his race prematurely.
Quartararo didn't have the start from P16 he had hoped for. He had wrestled his way to 14th in the opening stages, but the mid-pack is a dangerous place to be. The Frenchman went wide and fell back to 20th before the end of the first lap.
The number-20 rider had some catching up to do. By lap 8, he was in P17 and closing in on his teammate. One lap later, they swapped positions, allowing El Diablo to start the chase for a championship point. He overtook Augusto Fernandez, and as the Marquez brothers had both taken a fall, the Yamaha man was in 13th by lap 12. He put his head down for a sprint to the finish. Quartararo closed an over 3s gap to Jack Miller to snatch 12th on the final lap, finishing 22.899s from the race winner.
Rins had a superb start from P15 on the grid. He cleverly opted for the inside line in Turn 1 and emerged in seventh place after the chaos of 22 riders diving into the sharp lefthander. He held the position on the opening lap but struggled to defend it. He gradually lost ground and was relegated to 17th place by lap 9. Though having moved up to 15th due to crashed rivals, the Spaniard also fell victim to the tricky COTA track at the end of the third sector with ten laps to go. Though unhurt, it ended his challenge.
Today's results see Quartararo in 12th place in the overall standings with 19 points. Rins is now in 19th position with 3 points. Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP stay 8th in the team championship with 22 points, and Yamaha hold on to 4th position in the constructor’s championship with 19 points.
The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team will be back in action in two weeks' time for the Gran Premio de España, held at the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto from 26-28 April.
