Franco Morbidelli returned to the Red Bull Ring for the Styrian Grand Prix with bad memories of an Austrian Grand Prix suffered on the same track. A painful stage since marked by a violent clash with Johann Zarco which led the two men before the commissioners on the Thursday before the start of the fifth meeting of the year. A meeting from which he emerged cleared, unlike the Frenchman. Crumpled, disturbed, the Petronas rider faced a fragile and unpredictable Yamaha. He was even overtaken by Johann Zarco despite starting from the pit lane…
The reunion in the race took place between Franco Morbidelli et Johann zarco. However, the Italian thought he would push them back at least until Misano with this punishment inflicted on the Frenchman which forced him to start far from the peloton, from the pit lane... But the event did not turn out well for the resident of the Yamaha Malaysian race while a red flag followed by a new start reset the counters to zero.
So, how did this first meeting go since the accident and the controversy that followed? Franco Morbidelli respond : " I was a little shy in turn two, at least at first, but that was a tendency that many had in my opinion. Zarco overtook at turn two, but by a greater margin than in the past. He passed me at turn nine, clearly, certainly more normal than last Sunday. Honestly, I was hoping he wouldn't pass me again in the second turn. I knew he was faster so I expected an overtake, which was clean ».
Certainly, but the Frenchman was lucky because the Italian had a Yamaha with erratic braking, a problem shared by all the M1s which forced him to Maverick Vinales to eject yourself from your motorcycle to avoid the worst. Is this a good way to respect the integrity of one's opponents and to have responsible management?
“Brembo was not surprised, they tried to solve the problem”
Morbidely precise : " It's a track that puts a lot of pressure on the brakes, and the Yamahas suffered more than the other bikes. One of the reasons may be that, to compensate for our lack of motor we must try to be stronger when braking and entering. The Brembo men were not surprised by the problems, they tried and are trying to solve the problem. Motorcycles are getting faster and faster, so the stress on the brakes increases, we have to work to avoid problems of this type ».
To listen to him, the brakes of Yamaha are clearly no longer adapted to their new requirements defined by their policy of preserving the engine with recognized valve defect. So, is it really reasonable to launch such M1s in the middle of the pack?
Morbidely does not hide the fact that he pilots with a certain apprehension: “ it was a really difficult day. And overall it was a really strange weekend. In practice we seemed to have the pace of the best, this morning I was fast with the medium tire used, but in the race after a good start I made a mistake at turn three, and from there, the weak points of the bike have taken over. I'm glad I took a point considering my situation seven days ago, but I struggled ».
Misano, in September, should be a less hostile land for Yamaha . But they will have to resolve their brake problem, for everyone's safety.
MotoGP Austria 2 J3: classification
