After a Thursday that feels like a prologue, since it only included a special event of 4,33 km which he finished in 56th position (out of 91 registered) in the general classification, Franco Morbidelli discovered the rally discipline a little more by completing a very correct Friday although including 5 timed events in the immediate vicinity of the Monza circuit.
The MotoGP world vice-champion concluded this second day in 54th position, 12 minutes behind the leader Dani Sordo.
Franco Morbidelli : “Monza, second day. What a challenge! I've never seen anything like this in my life! The conditions were bad, but I still had fun today! PS thank you so much for all the birthday wishes! It's wonderful to feel so close! A big hug ! Thanks again ! »
As expected, Saturday was going to be another notch, with 7 real stages on the mountainside on wet asphalt surrounded by snow and sometimes fog.
The day started rather well for the Italian who even made a foray into the top 50 while at the front the fight raged between Sébastien Ogier et Dani Sordo, up to the connection between the ES 10 and the ES11 where Franco Morbidelli made a mistake due to lack of concentration.
The one who usually wears Petronas colors folded his suspension against a wall and was forced to abandon his Hyundai i20 before returning with the tow truck.
Franco Morbidelli said to GP One : “I abandoned the car 80 km from the circuit. Today, with all this snow, it was really difficult. The road was completely covered in snow with only one path to follow. Unfortunately, I relaxed for a moment during the binding and hit the wall while bending a suspension arm. A little carelessness was enough to stop me. It's very difficult. Here, you pay dearly for a mistake, much more than on a motorbike, and a small thing is enough to make you give up. You pay for making the slightest mistake. Let's say that today I had another experience, that of getting into the tow truck. »
As permitted by the regulations, the Yamaha rider will nevertheless be at the start of Sunday's three special stages, in 67th position, 42 minutes behind the leader. Sébastien Ogier.
Some obviously regret the non-presence of Valentino Rossi, even if the very delicate conditions of Saturday caused damage to some of the best…
