Quartararo Finishes Second at 2022 Austrian MotoGP

There’s no doubting the extraordinary talents of Fabio Quartararo, who was back on his A-game for the 2022 Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich in Spielberg, Austria. Representing the ENEOS-sponsored Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team, he scored second place while teammate Franco Morbidelli was on his way to scoring championship points before a crash in Turn 2 dashed his hopes.

Starting from P5 on the grid, El Diablo held his position through the opening corners but lost a position to Maverick Viñales on lap 2. However, once he got into his groove a few laps later, there was no stopping Quartararo as he turned on the heat.

After Enea Bastianini retired with mechanical issues, Quartararo moved up to fourth and rode on the limit each lap, his decision to use a hard tire versus softer tire on the three riders ahead of him, quickly came to fruition. Quartararo was the faster rider and gradually reeled in his competition.

With 12 laps remaining, Jorge Martin ran wide, allowing the Frenchman to pass. Seven laps later Quartararo caught Jack Miller, setting up a perfect move out of the chicane and utilizing his Yamaha M1 to overtake the Aussie’s Ducati. Although he came close to catching the leader, Quartararo crossed the finish line 0.492sec behind for a second place win at a track where Ducati has traditionally dominated.

“We got the best possible result today, and even though we were just shy of a win, I’m super-happy,” Quartararo said. “I fought like a lion, and while I made a few mistakes, my reaction time and concentration were excellent.”

Morbidelli started from P16 and had to navigate a busy mid-pack in the opening corners that pushed him back to 18th. He regained 16th at the end of the opening lap and continued to show his fighting spirit. Morbidelli battled with determination to score as many championship points as possible but ran wide and crashed in Turn 2 when trying to overtake Miguel Oliveira on lap 24.

“I was catching up and feeling good until the crash,” said Morbidelli. “My tire was probably a bit dirty because the front washed out as I turned the bike left. There’s so much potential left in the bike, so let’s see if we can replicate this feeling in Misano or make it even better.”

Quartararo now has 200 points total and his championship standing increased to 28 points; Morbidelli remains 19th with 26 points. Yamaha still retains second in the manufacturer standings with 200 points, and Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP are third in the team championship with 226 points.

NEXT RACE

Quartararo and Morbidelli take on Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli for Round 14 of the 2022 MotoGP World Championship from September 2-4, 2022.