Franco Morbidelli was able to enjoy two driving sessions this Wednesday at the Jerez – Ángel Nieto Circuit, for the first time since pre-season testing in Qatar. On his Yamaha YZR-M1, “Francky Morbido” set the ninth time in morning practice in 1'38.733, 0.792 behind the fastest time of the day. Marc Márquez. In the afternoon, he ranked tenth in 1'38.646, 0.853 behind Maverick Vinales, unable to improve due to a small fall in the last corner ten minutes from the end. This placed him in fourteenth position at the end of the day.
“First of all, I'm really happy to be back on the circuit and to be reunited with my circuit family, my team. Secondly, it was very nice to be back in my M1 and I felt very good from the first lap. We immediately started working on the settings and preparing for the weekend ahead. There are still things to improve, but I felt good and we know what we need to improve. »
“Unfortunately I couldn't see what my true potential was today after a mistake in the last corner towards the end of the second session, but I know the potential is there. »
“When I entered the track with new tires to achieve a good time”, he explains, “ I crashed in turn 13: on the entry lap, I slowed down a lot to get out of the heavy traffic, and when I got back on the track, I wasn't focused enough. I didn't think about that, the fact that the tire was cold, and I found myself on the ground at the 13th turn. »
“The thing I'm sorry about is that I fell due to lack of concentration when I wasn't pushing, but it happened. »
Franco had a good feeling when he was able to ride his Yamaha M1 again: “It was really good to be able to get back in the pits, work with the team and get back on track. Today I wanted to regain confidence in the bike, and I would say that the responses were comforting from the first lap. Of course, there are things to improve, but that's normal given the situation we experienced. »
The good work done by Yamaha was also demonstrated by the presence of two of Iwata's bikes in the first two positions, although Morbidelli warns who will be the man to beat.
“Yamaha has made great progress in terms of our weak points, i.e. acceleration and grip, as evidenced by the fact that from morning to afternoon, my performance did not improve. not damaged, even with used tires. The fastest in the current rankings on used tires is Marquez, who currently is the man to beat on this track. »
Photos © Petronas SRT
