Fabio Quartararo finished ninth in the Indonesian MotoGP Grand Prix, putting Yamaha back inside the top ten. Starting from 12th on the grid, the Frenchman moved forward steadily and crossed the line only 0.159 seconds behind Fabio di Giannantonio. It was Quartararo’s strongest Grand Prix result since he finished seventh at July’s German round.

Quartararo stayed with the leading Aprilias during the closing laps and closed on di Giannantonio, who was struggling. He said an extra lap might have given him the opportunity to pass, while the effort over the final five laps had taken a heavy toll on his tyres. Ninth also matched his result in the Indonesian Sprint, where Raul Fernandez and Marco Bezzecchi retired after colliding at Turn 1.

The Yamaha rider finished six places ahead of team-mate Alex Rins. Rins had struggled with inconsistent engine braking and traction control, whereas Quartararo said he had not faced the same issue. He did, however, report problems stopping for Turns 1 and 10. A sufficiently positive front-end feeling helped him offset part of that difficulty.

The track changed considerably after the Moto2 and Moto3 races, while Yamaha had completed limited running with the medium rear tyre. Monster Yamaha team principal Massimo Meregalli described Quartararo’s performance as very good and said the rider maintained competitive pace all the way to the finish.

Quartararo now begins the final five rounds of his Yamaha career. The 2021 MotoGP world champion is 14th in the championship before moving to Honda for the new 850cc and Pirelli era. Luca Marini was Honda’s leading rider in Indonesia, finishing 12th.