Quartararo Back to Fighting Form at 2024 MotoGP San Marino Italy
Team ENEOS implemented different strategies during mixed conditions at the Gran Premio di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini, held at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. Dark clouds and rain added extra tension on the starting grid, turning this GP into a flag-to-flag competition that brought chaos along for the ride. Fabio Quartararo opted to stay out on slicks while teammate Álex Rins decided to gamble by swapping his bike; they finished P7 and P19, respectively.
Quartararo started P10 from the grid and settled into P11 after a scrap with Álex Marquez. After Pedro Acosta crashed with 23 laps left, El Diablo moved up to P10, but with a gap between himself and the riders ahead. Rain began to fall heavily on lap 7, causing Franco Morbidelli to crash out and Jorge Martin to head into the pits for a bike swap. Quartararo moved up to P8, quickly gaining on the leading group. With two laps left, he overtook Jack Miller to finish P7, 17.642sec from first.
“This was a really hard Race, especially after rain started to fall during the first few laps,” Quartararo said. “I was really close to going into the pits for a bike swap but I saw that the majority of them kept going in, so I decided to stay out. Luckily this track dries super fast, so it was a strategy that paid off.”
Rins started P20 but dropped a position after negotiating a tricky opening lap. As rain fell, he went to the pits for a bike swap, but his gamble didn’t pay off; when the rain suddenly stopped, track conditions were more dry than wet, causing him to go back in to switch back to his original bike. Rejoining the race in P20, he pushed hard to finish the race in P19 after Aleix Espargaró retired on lap 15.
“This Race was difficult to manage because I decided to change bikes,” Rins explained. “As soon as we were back on track, the rain stopped, and after two laps riding with wet tires, I had to go back and switch to the dry bike. I had better pace but it was hard to overtake.”
Following the San Marino GP, Quartararo is 14th in the overall standings with 61 points; Rins remains 20th with 15 points. Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP holds ninth in the team championship with 76 points, while Yamaha retains fourth in the manufacturer championship with 72 points.
NEXT RACE
Team ENEOS returns to Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli from September 19-22 for Round 14 of the 2024 MotoGP Championship, the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.