Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP

Steady Sprint for Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP in Styria

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP's Fabio Quartararo and Álex Rins pushed all the way to the finish line in the Grand Prix of Austria Sprint at the Spielberg track today. Quartararo turned a solid Saturday into a 12th-place result, while Rins made progress from the back of the grid to take 18th position.

GRAND PRIX OF AUSTRIA

SPRINT

Spielberg (Austria), 19th September 2026

12th

F. Quartararo
+13.050 / 14 LAPS

18th

Á. Rins
+21.054 / 14 LAPS

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP's Fabio Quartararo and Álex Rins took on the Sprint at Spielberg on the Grand Prix of Austria Saturday. Quartararo pressed on in the midfield throughout the 14-lap dash and crossed the line in 12th place, while Rins steadily rode from 20th on the grid to 18th position at the chequered flag.

Quartararo started the Sprint from ninth place but found himself in 12th after a busy opening lap. The Frenchman settled into the position and maintained a consistent pace throughout much of the race. With three laps remaining, Pedro Acosta's crash briefly promoted Quartararo to 11th. However, Enea Bastianini, who had been closing in on the number 20 during the latter stages, found a way past on the same lap. Quartararo continued to push until the finish and crossed the line in 12th place, 13.050s from the winner.

Rins lined up in 20th on the grid and dropped behind the Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP riders at the start before overtaking Jack Miller to complete the opening lap in 21st. The Spaniard began making progress on lap 5 when he passed Franco Morbidelli. Further gains followed as Diogo Moreira and Raúl Fernández were handed double long-lap penalties, moving Rins up to 18th by lap 8. Another position came his way when Acosta crashed out, but Moreira found his way past on the same lap. On the final lap, Rins continued to close the gap to Toprak Razgatlıoğlu but came just 0.090s short at the finish line, taking 18th place and ending the Sprint 21.054s from first.

After today's Sprint, Quartararo remains 15th in the championship standings with 61 points, while Rins stays 20th with 24 points. Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP are 10th in the team classification with 85 points, and Yamaha hold 5th place in the constructor standings with 84 points.

Tomorrow, the teammates will be back in action for Warm Up, held from 09:40-09:50 (GMT+2), and the 28-lap Race, which starts at 14:00.

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MASSIMO MEREGALLI
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team Director

"Overall, the Austrian GP weekend has been progressing quite positively for Fabio. He seems to be feeling comfortable with the bike. Securing direct entry into Q2 yesterday was an important achievement and helped him qualify in ninth position. He lost a few positions at the start due to the rider field being bunched together. He spent the entire Sprint battling in the very competitive midfield, maintaining a consistent pace and extracting the maximum from the package available to him. Álex has not had the easiest weekend so far. Starting from 20th on the grid always makes things difficult, but he kept working throughout the Sprint. We will analyse today's data carefully and use it to prepare as well as possible for tomorrow."

FABIO QUARTARARO
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider

"Qualifying was good and the Sprint was good too. I knew a top 10 would be difficult today, so I think P12 was the position we deserved. I am feeling well on the bike, but in the Sprint and Race, with people in front of you, it's more difficult to make the lap times. Tomorrow the race will be difficult, especially for the tyres. We know that for the Race we will try something different."

ÁLEX RINS
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider

"This is a tough track for us. Today in the Sprint, I was struggling quite a bit. I had [Takaaki] Nakagami in front of me. I was recovering quite a lot on braking, but every time he was able to pull away by some metres again."