PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team enjoyed a fantastic qualifying session at the Catalan GP where Fabio Quartararo set the best time of the day, obtaining his second pole position as a MotoGP rider. Franco Morbidelli finished in fourth place – just 1 thousandth of a second off the front row.
Quartararo followed up his pole position at the Spanish GP in Jerez and front row start for the Italian GP with another exquisite qualifying showing in Barcelona. The rookie clocked a 1min 39.484secs lap on his second run in Q2, clinching the top spot.
Morbidelli also enjoyed a positive Saturday. After successfully making it through Q1 with a 1min 393.727secs lap – the best time of the session – he carried his form over to Q2. The Italian was fourth quickest in that session. His 1min 39.711secs lap only just denied him a second front row start of the campaign.
The PETRONAS Yamaha SRT riders were fast in FP3. Quartararo finished in second position in the morning session with a best time of 1min 39.583secs, despite suffering a light crash at Turn 2. Morbidelli fell harder at Turn 13 on his last run, which led to him finishing 13th. He would have to go through Q1 thanks to his 1min 40.079secs lap, and undergo a check-up at the medical centre to confirm that he was unhurt in the incident.
Tomorrow’s 24-lap MotoGP race will take place at 2pm local time.
#21 Franco Morbidelli
“First of all, I have to thank the team, because they repared the bike very well between FP3 and FP4. The crash in the morning was painful, and I didn’t know what to expect in the afternoon. We managed to have a good FP4 and a good qualifying session coming through Q1, so it has been a great day. We have to see the conditions and how the bike will behave tomorrow, although our pace has been good throughout the weekend. We’re confident and now it’s a matter of fixing some things tonight and going for it tomorrow in the race. I want to congratulate Fabio Quartararo and the team for the pole position they achieved today.”
#20 Fabio Quartararo
“I’m lost for words. We put in two quick laps, and also our pace this morning and this afternoon were very good. We still have to analyse the tyres, but I’m very happy after today. I’m particularly pleased to have come here in good shape after my operation last week. We will see how my arm holds up tomorrow, because today it did so very well. I want to thank the team for all the work they are doing. It’s an incredible feeling.”
