In Brno, Franco Morbidelli had finished the previous weekend in second place, which was his first podium since moving to MotoGP in 2018. His best results before had been two fifth places, at Texas in 2019 and at Jerez this year. The Italian – Brazilian thus arrived at the Red Bull Ring in third position in the provisional ranking of the World Championship, tied on points with Andrea Dovizioso, and third very useful element of the major trio from Yamaha with fabio quartararo et Maverick Vinales.
In the Petronas SRT team, we could only regret the abandonment of Morbidelli during the Andalusian GP due to a technical breakdown, while his two other results at the start of the season (fifth and second) would have allowed him to consider a more solid place in the general classification. Especially since the Jerez Circuit is considered more favorable to the Yamaha than the Red Bull Ring. On the Spielberg Circuit the longest Grand Prix of the year takes place, with 120,904 km (28 laps of 4,318 km) and the fastest of the World Championship with an average of 183,2 km/h for Dovizioso, during his 2019 victory.
For “Francky Morbido”, the Grand Prix of the Czech Republic, in which he finished second behind Brad Binder last Sunday, had been “A bit of a strange race because I wasn't able to push 100% throughout the race. At the start I was going quite fast, my pace was better than expected and I was moving away from the peloton. But I saw Brad catching up and I knew he might be in a better position than me because he had the average tire. »
“I didn't try to fight because I just wanted to make sure I got to the end of the race and got my first podium. It allowed me to come to Austria with a big injection of confidence, knowing that we can be strong. I was looking forward to this. »
The Red Bull Ring is one of the eight circuits where Franco won a Grand Prix in 2017, when he was crowned Moto2 World Champion. During his first MotoGP race in 2018, he was only able to finish in nineteenth position, 40 seconds behind the winner Jorge Lorenzo, his Honda from the EG 0,0 Marc VDS team. Last year, he placed his Yamaha Petronas Yamaha SRT in tenth place, 20.5 behind Dovizioso's Ducati.
On the occasion of the first free practice session this Friday morning, the 600 European Superstock 2013 Champion – on a Kawasaki ZX-6R from the San Carlo Team Italia team – set the fifth time in 1'24.588, 0.395 from provisional leader Pol Espargaró. He was the fastest of the four Yamaha riders, with Fabio Quartararo tenth, Maverick Viñales eleventh and Valentino Rossi thirteenth. It was not a triumphant morning for Yamaha, and the worst is yet to come with two Grands Prix in a row.
During FP2, the weather was not ideal and no driver managed to improve their morning time. Thirteenth in FP2, more than 3 seconds behind leader Jack Miller – without this having much significance – Franco Morbidelli finished the day in fifth position, which was much more important.
According to Morbidelli, “It was a good Friday for us. We didn't do as many laps as we wanted due to the difficult conditions on the track this afternoon. »
“This morning, I had a little trouble at the start with the medium tire. I struggled to find the rhythm, but then it started to get better and better. Then when we put the soft tire on, the gap to those in front was smaller and we were able to finish in fifth place, which I'm happy with. »
“I hope the weather will be a little better on Saturday and we will try to do a good job. »
“Friday during FP1, my pace was average, never too slow or too fast. Then I stopped at my pit to change tires, and with the soft tires the weather wasn't so bad. It went well although I think I was better off than in Brno tire wise. »
What was your assessment for this Friday?
“I'm not satisfied, but I know we can catch up because our bike is competitive. This Saturday is crucial and I will give the best of myself because it is a difficult track for the M1. I don't know if I can fight for the podium. »
It is possible that qualifying and the race will take place in the rain. Would this be an opportunity for you?
“That could be the case, and if it is, I will try to exploit the conditions. Anyway, I would prefer it to be dry tomorrow to see if the modifications we have made to the bike are correct. At the World Championship, we must be ready to face all situations and all weather conditions. I have never raced underwater on these bikes. If that happened, I would do the best I could. »
The Brno Grand Prix was not a great race for you. But another driver brought France's honor to the podium: Johann Zarco.
“Johann and I are certainly not friends, but between us there is respect. We are on good terms and I have to say that last week he had a great race on a difficult weekend for many drivers. We must congratulate him. »
Results of the first day of free practice:
Credit rankings: motogp.com
Benchmark performance:
Test record: 1'23.027 by Marc Márquez on Repsol Honda in 2019
Lap record: 1'23.827 by Andrea Dovizioso on Ducati in 2019
Best top speed: 316,7 km/h for Andrea Dovizioso on Ducati in 2019
Provisional ranking of the World Championship:
Provisional ranking of the World Team Championship:
Photos © Petronas SRT, Motogp.com / Dorna
