Quartararo Fights to Finish P5 at 2025 MotoGP Catalunya
Fabio Quartararo knew tire management would be important, so he struck a fine balance as he pushed hard while saving his tires to finish the Catalunya GP in fifth place for Team ENEOS. Álex Rins suffered a crash in Turn 12 on lap 15, his first NC result of the 2025 season.
Starting from P2 on the grid, Quartararo settled into fourth and was passed by Enea Bastianini on lap three. Unable to match the pace, El Diablo shifted to defense, battling against Luca Marini and Johann Zarco, holding fifth until lap nine when Zarco overtook him, followed by Marini a lap later. The Frenchman executed his revenge, however, reclaiming P6 when Zarco crashed out on lap 11, then regaining P5 by passing Marini in Turn 5, holding the position to the finish line, 14.409sec from the winner.
“The beginning of the Race was really tough, but I took care of my tires,” Quartararo explained. “I rode defensively, even under braking, so even though we started in a difficult position, we finished in a positive way, a ‘real’ position.”
Rins’ Race was a rollercoaster by comparison: after starting from P19, he dropped to P22 after pushing wide early on, but was able to recover to P18 by the end of lap one. He joined the group fighting for P10 after two riders crashed and was able to reach P13 but was overtaken and dropped to P15. Zarco’s crash bumped him back up but Rins was passed again four laps later by Franco Morbidelli. He tried to stay close while managing his tires but he crashed at the end of lap 15.
“I hit the wall because I lost the front,” Rins said. “It’s unfortunate because we weren’t riding so bad. I tried to keep calm and not overheat the tires too much, but I couldn’t hold the front going into corner 12.”
Following the Catalunya GP, Quartararo is now eighth in the overall standings with 129 points, while Rins is 19th with 45 points. Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP is sixth in the team championship with 174 points, and Yamaha holds fifth in the manufacturer standings with 160 points.