Fabio Quartararo qualified fourth and finished sixth in the Brazil Sprint, passing both Marc Marquez and Marco Bezzecchi off the line in one of the weekends standout moments. The performance came despite Yamaha running 12km/h slower than Marquez on the straights, with Quartararo estimating 80% of the deficit comes purely from engine power. He has set no concrete goals before mid season. Progress. But not enough.

Toprak Razgatlioglu finished 17th in Brazil, matching his debut result from Thailand the week before. The three time World Superbike champion had crashed out of the Sprint in the closing stages after a promising start to the race. Yamaha switched him to the soft rear tyre for Sunday after the medium caused problems on Saturday. The MotoGP learning curve remains steep.

Francesco Bagnaia’s Brazil weekend fell apart at every turn. He crashed in Q2, damaging his factory Ducati and dropping to 11th on the grid. The Sprint brought eighth. Sunday brought nothing. He lost the front end behind Johann Zarco’s Honda on lap 11 and was out. Two crashes. Zero race points. Bagnaia heads to COTA with serious questions still unanswered.

Fermin Aldeguer missed all pre season testing and the Thai opener after fracturing his femur in a winter training crash. He arrived in Goiania still on crutches, cleared to race by medical staff after a recent test on a Panigale. He then qualified seventh and finished eighth on his 2026 debut. The body is not yet right. The speed clearly is.

Diogo Moreira crossed the line 13th at his home Brazilian Grand Prix in Goiania, collecting six championship points on a weekend that delivered mixed emotions for the rookie. The 2025 Moto2 world champion said a poor start badly hurt his race, having shown the pace to run with the leading Honda group. His target for the season is clear. First Honda. Every race.

Pecco Bagnaia’s Brazil nightmare started in qualifying, where he crashed and damaged his Ducati, and ended with a race DNF at Turn 1 on lap 11. The two time world champion admitted he was completely at the mercy of what the bike was doing before going down without really doing much. He has yet to finish higher than eighth across the opening four races of 2026.

Alex Rins took top Yamaha honours in the Brazilian Grand Prix at Goiania, but paid a price. The Spaniard told media his finger was hurt after a piece of broken asphalt struck him on the opening lap, blaming the Moto2 race for the low grip conditions. He was not alone. Enea Bastianini took a hit to the shoulder and Joan Mir copped a heavy one to the knee. Goiania’s track surface was brutal.