Team ENEOS Secures Valuable Points at Chaotic 2025 MotoGP USA
Team ENEOS faced a challenging Grand Prix of The Americas marked by unpredictable conditions and significant pre-race and in-race incidents. Despite the chaos, Fabio Quartararo and Álex Rins demonstrated resilience, finishing in 10th and 11th place respectively, securing valuable Championship points.
The drama began even before the race start at the Circuit of The Americas. Quartararo crashed on the sighting lap but managed to return to the grid. Subsequently, a flurry of last-minute bike changes due to the track conditions led to a delayed start and a reduction in race distance to 19 laps.
El Diablo started well from P11 on his hastily converted second bike, climbing to 7th in the initial lap. He then engaged in a tight battle for 5th place with several riders. However, an unexpected dashboard issue caused him to drop back to 14th. Over a chaotic remaining ten laps, the Frenchman fought his way through the pack as numerous competitors crashed or retired, ultimately finishing in a lonely 10th position, 18.255sec behind the winner.
“I don’t understand why I crashed on the sighting lap – strange when I wasn’t even pushing but I lost the front,” said Quartararo. “It was a mess during the first starting grid procedure on rain tires, so I had to use my second bike since my first bike was damaged.”
Rins, starting from P14 on slick tires, briefly moved up to 11th behind his teammate after the first corners. Contact with another rider pushed him down to 21st by the end of lap 2. Undeterred, Rins began a recovery, reaching 18th after overtaking Augusto Fernández. Capitalizing on the numerous retirements, he continued his progress, eventually securing 11th place, crossing the finish line 24.256sec behind the leader.
“We changed the setup a lot but now we’re able to understand the bike better,” Rins explained. “I was forced to drop down to the last position but I slowly was able to recover to finish P11.”
Following this round, Quartararo is now tied for 12th in the overall standings with 16 points, while Rins is tied for 15th with 10 points. Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP currently holds 7th place in the team championship with 26 points, and Yamaha maintains 5th position in the manufacturer championship with 28 points.