Petronas rider Morbidelli demonstrated in a quick lap in the final moments of the fourth day of testing at Losail that Yamaha provides good equipment to all its riders. The reigning vice-world champion with the status of satellite driver thus inserted himself between the two factory M1s to complete a leading trio of the Iwata brand in the standings. However, if this is reassuring, it is not yet the assurance of a long quiet river for the 2021 season, which will also begin in Qatar at the end of the month...
In the final minutes, Franco Morbidelli went to chase the clock Thursday night on the Losail track to only fall short by 0,079 seconds of the best time of the day signed by the Yamaha factory rider Maverick Vinales. With his 1'53.323, the Petronas representative, who, unlike his colleagues in the brand, does not sit on the last Yamaha M1 in factory spec, was very happy.
« We also managed to improve the pace a bit » says the Italian-Brazilian. “ Although the track conditions allowed for slightly slower times this Thursday, I was able to maintain yesterday's pace. And I felt more comfortable on the bike. So we improved ", highlighted Morbidely. " But if you look at the other guys, everyone is improving. The Ducati looks very strong, as does Suzuki and the other two Yamahas. Vale was very fast too. At the moment it looks like a fight between Yamaha, Suzuki and Ducati ».
“Franky” then took a closer look at the timesheet: “ there are no surprises. All of them are very fast and very strong. Seeing the top 8 in 1'54 is impressive. As Zarco's 357 km/h are impressive. An interesting, enjoyable and challenging timesheet ».
Morbidelli: “most of the work is finished”
« The Ducatis are very strong on this track, we saw today that Johann reached 357 km/h, it's an incredible speed., declared the 26-year-old pilot who could only regret his modest 341,7 km / h measures. “ It will be very difficult to fight against them in the race, and not only because of the speed in the straight. Outside of the third sector, this track seems to be suitable for them ».
The triple winner in MotoGP feels able to launch into the 2021 fray, from March 28 on the same Losail route: “ Yes, I feel ready, we worked very well over these four days. I'm very satisfied, we did a lot of laps, tried a lot of things, different variations of settings and little things that we were also able to test. There is still one day left, but most of the work is done. In the end we will have a very clear vision ».
Incidentally, the new front fairing which was spotted notably at Rossi does not come on the A-spec of MorbidellYo. « No, because I don't think it will fit my bike ", did he declare. " Yamaha brought a lot of little things to improve my package. But there is no development on my bike, so they focus on new motorcycles, it's true ". For the moment, this has no consequences for Morbidely.
MotoGP Test Qatar 2 J2: times
