Quartararo Finishes Top 8 at Austrian MotoGP 2023

Team ENEOS battled fiercely in sweltering heat at the Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich in Spielberg, Austria for Round 10 of the 2023 MotoGP Championship. Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli managed their tires well at this tricky circuit, finishing eighth and 11th place respectively.

El Diablo started from P9 but lost positioning during the opening stages of the race, falling as far back as 12th but managed to turn things around after the midway stage, overtaking Johann Zarco, Jack Miller, and closing the gap to Enea Bastianini.

On lap 20, Quartararo regained ninth place, his original starting position, with his eyes set on Aleix Espargaró. Launching a successful attack on the final lap, the Frenchman defended his position to hold eighth over the finish line, 19.509sec from first.

“I lost a lot of grip on the first three laps and couldn’t fight for the position I hoped for,” said Quartararo. “My focus this season is to continue learning, remain focused, and stay calm; most importantly, provide the best feedback to Yamaha so they can make the best bike possible.”

Originally slated to start from P15, Morbidelli moved up to P14 since Pol Espargaró was given a grid penalty. Morbidelli held his position through the opening laps, but by lap 4 he engaged in a battle with Espargaró and was briefly pushed back to 15th before Miguel Oliveira retired from the race, allowing the Italian to move up to 14th again.

Mobido overtook Espargaró again for 13th, riding behind teammate Quartararo for a short time but struggled to find a way to advance past Zarco until the final 10 laps. Next he chased Miller for 11th, taking the position four laps later. Morbidelli was closing in on Bastianini for a top-10 finish but came up shy as he crossed the finish in 11th place, 21.527sec from the race leader.

“Starting from further behind made this a tricky race,” Morbidelli said. “I felt strong, had good pace, and recovered some positions, but the starting position is an issue.”

Following the Austrian GP, Quartararo remains 11th in the overall standings with 73 points; Morbidelli stays in 12th with 65 points. Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP holds sixth in the team championship with 138 points, and Yamaha shares fourth in the manufacturer standings with 93 points.

NEXT RACE

Team ENEOS take on Round 11 of the 2023 MotoGP series, the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya in Montmeló, Spain from September 1-3, 2023.