The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team have made their way to the Lusail International Circuit for this weekend’s Grand Prix of Qatar, which is the final intercontinental round before the start of the European leg of the 2025 MotoGP calendar. Fabio Quartararo and Álex Rins are keen to give it their all under the signature floodlights of the Lusail track which always add extra atmosphere to this round.
Quartararo currently is joint 12th in the overall classifications. Though the Lusail track hasn’t always been a successful podium-hunting ground for the Frenchman, he was the 2021 Doha GP winner. Noticing some improvements in bike performance at the previous round in Austin, Texas, El Diablo is keen to try the same set-up in Qatar to compare data.
Rins holds joint 15th place in the championship standings. He also stood on the podium in Lusail once before, having secured third in the 2013 Moto3 race. His best score in the premier class there is fourth place, achieved in 2019. The Spaniard is set on securing solid points again and tweaking the bike set-up he used on the Americas GP race day.
Built on the outskirts of Doha, the Lusail International Circuit was added to the MotoGP calendar in 2004 and became the first and only circuit in MotoGP to host a night-time Grand Prix four years later. The track’s flowing midsection has a mix of medium and high-speed corners (six left and ten right). However, the track is best known for its iconic over-a-kilometre-long main straight followed by a steep first corner – a combination that offers plenty of opportunities to overtake.
The Lusail circuit is located in the GMT+3 time zone. MotoGP’s FP1 will take place on Friday afternoon from 15:45-16:30 local track time, followed by the Practice session from 20:00-21:00. On Saturday, FP2 will be held from 15:00-15:30, the qualifying sessions from 15:40-16:20, and the 11-lap Sprint starts at 20:00. On Sunday, the warm-up is held from 15:40-15:50, and the 22-lap Race starts at 20:00.
Massimo Meregalli
Team Director, Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP
“In Doha, we can pick up where we left off in COTA in terms of performance, which was actually quite decent. Without the sighting-lap crash and the other mishaps, we would have been able to get a better result. On a more positive note, the Americas GP has confirmed the improvement of the performance of the M1. So, we are starting the Qatar GP motivated to build on this base. The Lusail track is not bad for the characteristics of our bike, so we think we can continue the trend.”
Fabio Quartararo
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider
“Lusail was usually the first track we would visit, but this year the order changed. Because of this, it feels like we haven’t been here in a long time, also because we had no test here in the preseason. We know that we can expect higher temperatures than during last year’s GP, because this time we are visiting in April. I expect it will be a hot GP weekend and a long Race, but I’m looking forward to it. We didn’t get the results we wanted in Austin, but we did see some positives, especially in the Sprint. So, I’m looking forward to trying again this weekend, though I know the competition will be tough.”
Álex Rins
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider
“We are still in the process of finding the ideal set-up. We’ll keep working on that, starting from where we left off in Austin. Qatar will be a high-degradation track, so we’ll need to keep an eye on that, but I’m ready and motivated to keep working on it.”
