Well spurred on by his teammate Fabio Quartararo, who proves the undeniable qualities of the Yamaha when it is well run, Franco Morbidelli is ready to give the best of himself at Phillip Island, a week before the most important Grand Prix for his team and its main sponsor, the Malaysian GP which will take place on November 3 in Sepang.
Australia's Phillip Island Circuit was built in 1956, but the island's roads have hosted motorcycle races since 1931. It's a unique and exciting track thanks to its fast layout and lines that reward precision, but its location by the sea makes it particularly vulnerable to the elements with strong winds which, as well as being a challenge, also accelerate the rapid change of the weather.
Its very particular layout makes it a circuit appreciated by many drivers, but which can also cause serious disappointments. Plus Phillip Island sits in the middle of the overseas treble between Motegi and Sepang, so there has been no respite since the Japanese Grand Prix, where sixth-placed Morbidelli narrowly missed out on his best result of the season , the fifth place achieved in Austin, Assen, Silverstone and Misano, after equaling his best ranking of the season in qualifying with second position, as in Jerez.
In the Championship, “Francky Morbido” is currently sailing alone in tenth place. He totals 100 points exactly, which places him a little far from ninth Cal Crutchlow (113) to hope to carry out a decisive attack, but he is not directly worried by the eleventh Espargaro Pol, over whom he has a 15-point lead. His role as a teammate could encourage him to assist his teammate instead. fabio quartararo, who in sixth position is only three points behind Danilo Petrucci.
Franco has every reason to be confident heading into Australia. Morbidelli indeed has a good track record at Phillip Island with two podiums in Moto2, a second place in 2016 and a third in 2017.
According to Franco Morbidelli, who are " I really like the Phillip Island track, and I've been fast there for most of my career. »
“We start the weekend with good speed on the bike and a positive trend, even if the Motegi race left us with a bittersweet aftertaste after thinking we could have done a little more. »
“But it also means that we are going to Phillip Island with a lot of energy and motivation, and that we are going to work hard to do good work again. »
Provisional ranking of the World Championship:
1.Marc Márquez 350. 2. Dovizioso 231. 3. Rins 176. 4. Viñales 176. 5. Petrucci 169. 6. Quartararo 163. 7. Rossi 145. 8. Miller 125. 9. Crutchlow 113. 10. Morbidelli 100 11. Pol Espargaró 85. 12. Nakagami 74. 13. Me 66. 14. Aleix Espargaró 47. 15. Bagnaia 37. 16. Oliveira 33. 17. Iannone 33. 18. Zarco 27. 19. Lorenzo 23. 20. Rabat 18. 21. Bradl 16. 22. Pirro 9. 23. Guintoli 7. 24. Syahrin 7. 25. Abraham 5. 26. Kallio 2.
Photos © Petronas SIC Racing Team · Sepang International Circuit
