Argentina, MotoGP: Franco Morbidelli didn’t just make friends

The Petronas Yamaha rider didn't just make friends in a Argentine Grand Prix where he stood out with a certain aggressiveness on the track from the test sessions. Put under pressure by his young teammate, fabio quartararo, who showed good performance against the clock, the 2 Moto2017 World Champion, among the elite since 2018, wanted to raise the tone on the Termas track. And it ended badly.

That being said, without this clash with the official Casa Particular in Viñales in the last lap, the one who is also a nugget from the VR46 Academy would not have done too badly. Alas, and under the indignant eyes of Lynn Jarvis, he knocked a member of the Yamaha factory offside… “ I attacked to try to get at least sixth place. I didn't want to overtake anyone but I arrived in turn 7 with the effect of a double suction ", explained the Italian about his collision with Maverick Vinales. " I tried to stop the bike, but with the slipstream I arrived at high speed and at the same time Maverick tried to overtake Petrucci. I was a little too fast and he slowed down a little more. These two things together don't go well. But we were very lucky that we were both okay. Maverick came straight to me because I was in a little pain, he just asked me if I was okay ».

He pursues : " So far it was a good race for us, we were fast throughout the race. There was really a lot of overtaking. I had a lot of fun with Vale, Miller and Crutchlow. It is important. Perhaps some of the drivers in the leading group were surprised by my presence. And since they were faster in a straight line, they had the chance to overtake me more easily. I lost contact with Dovi and Vale when the game started with Miller and also with Petrucci. It's a shame. I was like, Okay, I'll let you go because I was hoping they could close the gap between Dovi and Vale, but they didn't. I actually felt like I could have narrowed the gap, as I still had good grip and a good tire. I just tried to use it sparingly. It's the race. They had an advantage on the straight and used it every time ».

Morbidely concludes: “ too bad for the last lap, but the race was positive. I just hope we continue on this path and try to have a good position at the end of the race. Last year it was a bit average for several reasons, but this year I think we have the potential to do great things. We were quite good and we could use the tire throughout the race, we still had potential in the last laps. It's positive, it means we worked well this weekend and the Yamaha is doing very well ».

Falling while eliminating Casa Particular in Viñales, Morbidely allowed his teammate Quarterly to take eighth position. In the championship, the Frenchman is twelfth with eight points while Morbidely is fifteenth with a delay of three units.

Argentina, MotoGP: ranking

Classification credit: MotoGP.com