Franco Morbidelli is designated as the favorite for this first Grand Prix of the year in Qatar. And in particular by the one who was the fastest in the off-season and the fastest on the Friday timesheet, Jack Miller. A distinction that the Italian-Brazilian refutes for the moment. The rider of a Yamaha M1 “A-Spec” version takes 342,8 km/h at peak, or 11 km/h less than the Ducati GP21. On a track like Losail, it's a real handicap. So the Petronas pilot is working...
Franco Morbidelli, despite a low top speed of its Yamaha , still dominated the FP1, before settling for seventh fastest time in FP2. For the moment in Q2, the teammate of a Valentino Rossi ninth comments: “ in the afternoon I felt really good, but in the evening I was a little slower. We need to work on this to get back the speed we already had during the test. But it wasn't so bad for the first day ».
“Francky” is only 0,289 seconds off the best time of the day Jack Miller which designates him as the man to beat in this first meeting of the year: “ I hope I'm the favorite “, he declared on this subject. “ But when I look at the numbers and the timesheet from Friday, it looks like the Ducati are the favorites. But that hasn't been said yet, we have to wait a little longer before predicting anything ».
Morbidely continues: “ Friday was just a first scan. The Ducati regained the speed it had during the test, especially in the evening. No more no less. That's just the speed they showed in testing. We, on the other hand, have a little more effort to get back to that speed, perhaps because we are getting lap times in other areas of the track. But we should let a little more time pass this weekend before making any predictions ».
In the second free practice session there was already a lot at stake, because the direct entry into Q2 at Losail will probably take place via the cooler spotlight session. “ This FP2 had the meaning of an FP3, because it is easier to adjust the lap time in the evening », confirms the pilot Petronas Yamaha. " So everyone used two new tires and tried to adjust the lap time. It was a very competitive FP2 at a very high level. I am seventh, two tenths behind, and we are losing a lot of time in sectors 1 and 4. Pol Espargaró is not far away either, the top 10 is half a second away. The top 7 in just two tenths is really special. The level is really high ", highlighted Morbidely.
Morbidelli: “I will try to take the turns as quickly as possible. Otherwise, I don't know what to do."
Will Saturday's qualifying times be significantly reduced? “ I don't know and inside I hope not », confessed Franky. “ Because the Ducatis were very fast on Friday. Times will probably be faster, but I don't know by how much faster. In my opinion, the Ducati are already the ones that are already close to the limit. I say it because I hope so. But we are still a little short of the limit. In truth, I don't know ».
On top speed, he concludes, as if a little annoyed: “ we certainly can't play on speed in the straight. So it has to be the speed in the corners. I will try to take the turns as quickly as possible. Otherwise, I don't know what to do. Do you have any advice ? "...
MotoGP Qatar 1 J1: times
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
