Fabio Quartararo, Gran Premio di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini MotoGP 2023

Team ENEOS Secures Points at Scorching San Marino MotoGP 2023

Despite scorching temperatures at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, Team ENEOS battled brilliantly at the Gran Premio Red Bull di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini MotoGP 2023, with Fabio Quartararo finishing 13th and Franco Morbidelli 15th overall.

Starting from P13, El Diablo temporarily dipped into 12th during a crowded opening lap but was back in 14th by lap 3. Though he was easily able to match pacing of the riders ahead, he was unable to find a way through until Brad Binder crashed a few laps later in Turn 14, which finally allowed Quartararo to gain a position. From there he rode in 13th for a majority of the race until crossing the finish line, 15.898sec from the leader.

El Diablo with the gangster lean
Franco Morbidelli on the move

“Even though I was fast and able to maintain good pace, when you’re behind someone it’s difficult to overtake,” said the Frenchman. “Towards the end I decided to ‘cut’ on the straight, creating a 1sec gap to the riders ahead to see what our pace was like, and in one lap I was already at their back again, so we know we’re fast.”

Morbidelli started P19 and was able to climb up to P17 by the end of the first lap. As Binder (and later Michele Pirro and Jack Miller) crashed, he moved up to 14th and had mostly a lonely ride until the final six laps when Binder and Augusto Fernandez caught up with him. Morbido lost a position to Binder but fought to hold onto a point-scoring position, finishing 15th, 24.579sec from first.

Franco Morbidelli practice lap at the 2023 San Marino GP
Fabio Quartararo, practice session at the 2023 San Marino GP

“It was a very tough race and we weren’t able to perform at the maximum level,” said Morbidelli. “Starting from too far behind, I lost a lot of time overtaking, so it was all me until meeting Brad at the end.”

Following this race, Quartararo remains 11th in the championship standings with 85 points, while Morbidelli is 12th with 68 points. Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP holds sixth in the team championship with 153 points, and Yamaha is fourth in the manufacturer standings with 105 points.

Bird’s eye view of Morbido, 2023 San Marino GP
Franco Morbidelli battles the pack at the San Marino GP
NEXT RACE

Team ENEOS travels to the Grand Prix of India for Round 13 of the 2023 MotoGP Series, held at Buddh International Circuit from September 22-24, 2023.