Quartararo on top of the world
FABIO Quartararo produced a brilliant ride to claim a resounding victory at the Catalonia MotoGP on Sunday, his third of the season which sends him top of the world championship standings.
Joan Mir, on a Suzuki, came through to take second and is now eight points behind Quartararo in the standings, while Alex Rins completed the podium.
The Petronas Yamaha Sepang Racing Team's (SRT) rider leads with 108 points.
Quartararo won the opening two races of the season but has struggled since then, failing to reach the podium in the last five races.
But the 21-year-old Frenchman showed signs of a return to form in last week's Emilia-Romagna MotoGP when he came fourth.
“This is the best moment that I
have had in a long time. We have had some tough times since Jerez, so this actually feels better than those wins,” said Quartararo.
“It feels so good to be back on the top step of the podium.”
Polesitter Franco Morbidelli, however, was left to rue what could have been after fading late in the race.
A mistake he made on lap 14 allowed Valentino Rossi to overtake him for the final podium slot.
“I’m a little angry about finishing fourth. I’m angry because I made a mistake in the race. I started a bit too hot and wore the
tyre out early on,” said Morbidelli.
“But it is a positive thing as it means we are at a good level.”
The Italian is fifth in the overall standings with 77 points with six races remaining this season.
SRT, who have won four out of eight races so far this season, also lead the overall team standings with 185 points.
Suzuki Ecstar (160pts) and Monster Energy Yamaha (148pts) are second and third.
The world championship will take a short break before resuming with the French Motorcycle Grand Prix at Le Mans on Oct 911. Fadhli Ishak