Alex Rins sees where Fabio Quartararo takes ‘eight tenths’ off Jack Miller in their ‘data’

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Fabio Quartararo has been by far the best Yamaha rider thus far in the 2025 MotoGP season, and teammate Alex Rins sees where he “makes the difference” in their data.

Rins also thinks he is in the same boat as Pramac’s Jack Miller and Miguel Oliveira in the one area where Quartararo has truly set himself apart from the rest of the Yamaha fold this year. Yamaha have fielded four bikes for the first time since 2022 after Pramac left the Ducati fold.

Quartararo is the top Yamaha rider in the 2025 standings ahead of this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi. The 2021 champion is P9 on 137 points after the first 16 of this year’s 22 rounds, while Miller is only P17 on 58 points, Rins is P19 on 45 and Oliveira is P21 on 24.

Yamaha have also seen Quartararo take four pole positions, finish the Spanish Grand Prix in second place and claim two podiums in Sprint Races this term. Miller’s best finish to date is P5 in America, Rins sealed P10 in Germany and Oliveira earned P9 in Catalunya and Misano.

Alex Rins hails how Fabio Quartararo ‘makes the difference’ under braking on Yamaha’s 2025 MotoGP bike

Quartararo’s pole position for the Spanish GP at Jerez in April was Yamaha’s first pole since the 2022 Indonesian Grand Prix. He has since achieved further poles at Le Mans, Silverstone and the TT Circuit Assen, while qualifying P2 in Barcelona and P3 at Lusail, Brno and Misano.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Fabio Quartararo from net worth to career stats

Quartararo’s 1:30.228 lap in Q2 at Misano also proved to Rins just how much of a difference the Frenchman can deliver under braking against the other Yamaha riders. No other Yamaha rider advanced to Q2, with Pramac’s Oliveira the second-best in P13 with a 1:30.944 Q1 lap.

Rins qualified P18 for the San Marino Grand Prix last time out with a personal-best lap time of 1:31.244, while Miller qualified P21 with a 1:31.377. And the Spaniard claims Quartararo made almost all of his lap time against their fellow Yamaha riders at Misano on the brakes.

Rins said, via quotes by Motorsport.com: “We really struggled a lot, with similar problems to those at other Grands Prix. I was really stuck on the braking part. I couldn’t brake later, compared to Fabio, who brakes 20 metres later than me.

“I’ve seen the data from Oliveira and Miller. They’re braking more or less the same as me, so that’s where [Quartararo] makes the difference. That’s where he [takes] eight tenths off us [on] the fastest lap.”

Yamaha could see Fabio Quartararo’s braking strength again at the Japanese Grand Prix

Miller rues the lack of inertia with Yamaha’s 2025 MotoGP bike, which he feels was a major factor in the Japanese brand now developing their V4 engine ahead of the 2026 season. He has noticed how their current YZR-M1, with its inline four engine, can struggle for traction.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Alex Rins from net worth to career stats

Quartararo can make up for at least part, if not all, of the Yamaha M1’s lack of acceleration compared to their rivals’ bikes by braking later than Rins, Miller and Oliveira. But the scale of his impact on the brakes compared to the other Yamaha riders can lead to large deficits.

Yamaha may see those deficits emerge once again this weekend at the Japanese GP due to Motegi’s heavy braking zones. Five of the eight braking zones around Motegi are classified as strong and two are listed as medium. MotoGP also requires teams to use bigger brakes.