Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP's Fabio Quartararo brilliantly defended ninth place in the Grand Prix of Japan Sprint, securing one point. Álex Rins pushed from P21 on the grid to P13 at the finish line of the 12-lap dash.
GRAND PRIX OF JAPAN
SPRINT
Mobility Resort Motegi (Japan), 3rd October 2026
9th
F. Quartararo +10.586 / 12 LAPS
13th
Á. Rins +19.873 / 12 LAPS
Racing in front of the Japanese fans at Yamaha's home GP, Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP's Fabio Quartararo gave it his all in today's Sprint. He held off rivals all the way to the chequered flag to secure a solid ninth-place finish. Meanwhile, Álex Rins pushed hard to secure P13.
Quartararo started from P12 and was in P9 after a three-rider crash in front of him on the opening lap. Not quite able to attack the rider ahead, the Frenchman gave a masterclass in defensive riding, keeping the chasing Luca Marini and Fermín Aldeguer at bay. He held ninth place across the finish line, crossing it 10.586s from first.
Rins commenced from P21 and, after an eventful opening lap, settled in P18. He was part of the multi-rider battle for fifteenth place. He overtook Somkiat Chantra on lap 7 and Jack Miller on the next. When Brad Binder and Toprak Razgatlıoğlu both ran wide on lap 9, Rins was up to P14 with a significant gap to the rider ahead. He focused on defending his position. As Francesco Bagnaia lost steam on the last lap due to tyre degradation, Rins wrapped up the 12-lap dash in P13, 19.873s from the winner.
After today's Sprint, Quartararo remains 15th in the championship standings with 62 points, while Rins stays 20th with 24 points. Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP are 10th in the team classification with 86 points, and Yamaha hold 5th place in the constructor standings with 85 points.
Tomorrow, the teammates will be back in action for Warm Up, held from 09:40-09:50 (GMT+9), and the 24-lap Race, which starts at 14:00.
MASSIMO MEREGALLI Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team Director
"We started today feeling quite positive because Fabio was immediately comfortable on the bike here on the Friday. The new asphalt offers good grip, and Motegi's layout also suits some of Fabio's strongest qualities, especially under braking. We made a few changes ahead of FP2. Starting from 12th on the grid in the busy midpack can make life difficult, but Fabio did an excellent job in the Sprint, managing the race and defending ninth place under constant pressure. Álex started from 21st and fought his way through the field, both by battling and by gaining several positions through others' misfortunes. The result is not where we ultimately want to be, but compared to his feeling on the bike yesterday, today there were some encouraging signs. Tomorrow we will push extra hard in Yamaha's home Grand Prix."
FABIO QUARTARARO Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider
"I expected to finish around P12-P13. The riders who crashed ahead of us today were faster, so we would have been around P12, realistically speaking – but we still take P9 and today's point, of course. The most important thing was that I enjoyed the Sprint race, and my pace was quite okay. For me, the soft tyre could make the full race distance, but let's see what the plan is, because for sure we will suffer more tyre degradation during the long race."
ÁLEX RINS Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider
"It was less tough than yesterday. We were able to find our way with the set-up again. Yesterday we went in one direction, but it looked like it wasn't the right one, so today we did the opposite, and it was much better. I improved my lap time compared to yesterday, and we were able to be a bit more competitive, but we are still far."
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team Director