PETALING JAYA: It was a day to forget for Petronas Yamaha Sepang Racing Team as both their MotoGP riders finished outside the top 10 at the European Grand Prix.
Fabio Quartararo got off to a disastrous start when he fell in the opening lap after an incident with another rider on Sunday.
He managed to remount his bike to set a series of fastest laps but was not able to make much headway and crossed the line in 14th spot.
The Frenchman, however, remains second in the riders’ championship with 125 points, 37 points adrift of leader Joan Mir, with two races remaining.
“At the beginning of the race, a rider had crashed in front of me and I failed to avoid him. Unfortunately, it meant that we lost points in the championship, at a race that wouldn’t have been our best but where we thought we would do quite well, ” said the 21-year-old.
“The feeling was a lot better in the dry condition, but still not quite how I wanted it. Although everyone had difficulties, I do think we could have had a better feeling and more pace.
“I think we need to try some new things next weekend and try to have fun in these last two races.
“We still have good possibilities to end the season well.”
Meanwhile, Franco Morbidelli was hampered by tyre pressure issues which saw him finish 11th.
“The biggest issue I had was with the pressure in the front tyre. When I was running in the pack, I noticed some problems with the pressure, ” said the Italian, who is currently fifth with 117 points.
“I was able to manage the situation. Despite the problem, coming in 11th is not bad.”
The riders will be back in action at the same venue, the Ricardo Tormo circuit, for the Valencia GP from Nov 13-15.
