Monster Yamaha Tech3 rider Jonas Folger enters Mugello having just extended his contract with the French team (see here).
Like his teammate who did the same thing at Le Mans, this gives him one less thing to worry about and leaves him fully available to concentrate on his job: " I am very happy. We spoke with team principal Hervé Poncharal a few weeks ago, and now we have announced the news. Now I have one less problem to worry about. So it’s definitely better for me.”
On this Thursday, a day dedicated to the media by the pilots,
speedweek collected the German's comments after the first five Grand Prix of the season: " VS'is interesting because on many tracks where I had problems during the year in Moto2, I now have no problems with the M1. I just checked, I only qualified in 17th place last year. I was far behind. But this year everything has changed, and the Yamaha fits well with Mugello. It's a very smooth track, I know how Vale and Jorge drove here last year. I looked at the data. You should not brake very late, nor too aggressively, I looked carefully at the data from 2016. Although I have never driven at Mugello with the Yamaha MotoGP before, I am completely confident. Because I know I can handle the Yamaha pretty well.
This data is perhaps the most important help for me. If I discover a lead, I don't need to follow anyone to progress. I don't copy other people's riding style, I don't study other people's way of riding. I rather take the information from the team's data, that's what I always do. I understand the character of the track better, because sometimes they drive aggressively, and sometimes softly. I look at the braking points, if they slow down gently, or if they sometimes look for a compromise when braking certain corners. If you look at braking, you better understand the character of a corner. Here at Mugello you always have to release the throttle and brake gently. And you have to prepare very well for corner exit with the throttle.”
Jonas Folger was one of the 20 riders who voted in Jerez for the new Michelin 70 front tire with a stiffer carcass than the current 06: “I prefer this tire because it is generally better. It is better when entering corners and more stable when braking, the stiffer carcass makes the tire better overall. The 06 tire with the softer carcass sometimes threatened to give way, with the stiffer construction this does not happen.”
