The reigning Moto2 world champion Franco Morbidelli improved his best time by almost a second during the second of two days of MotoGP testing organized this week in Valencia.
A satisfactory conclusion for the Italian who, this morning, suffered a fall at turn ten due to a cold tire. Morbidely was quick to react, continuing to work with his team and his second bike to improve his cornering speed.
While the Italian driver worked to adapt his riding to take advantage of the mid-corner qualities of his Honda RC213V and Michelins, his team modified the settings of his chassis and rear suspension to limit tire slippage. and its degradation.
Unfortunately with his fall in the morning and a limited allocation for soft tires, Morbidely had to spend a good part of the day with a well-worn front tire.
Despite everything, the Italian managed to set his best time at the end of the day with a lap of 1'31.786 which places him in seventh position on the timesheet, just 1.753 seconds behind Marc Marquez.
Tom Luthi unavailable due to his leg injury following his crash during practice for the Malaysian Grand Prix, he is once again the HRC test rider and Japanese Superbike champion Takumi Takahashi who used his motorbike.
The team of Takahashi led by the chief engineer Gilles Bigot tried different chassis geometry and suspension settings to help the 27-year-old Japanese rider feel more comfortable on a machine he will ride again on November 23-24 at the Jerez circuit. A track where he has already raced.
Franco Morbidelli: 16th – 1'31.786
« These two days were positive because we made good progress. I rode today a second faster than yesterday, which is a step I didn't expect to climb. So everything is going in the right direction for now. Obviously, I still have to work on my riding because this bike doesn't drive like a Moto2. I also need to better understand how the electronics work, the feeling and reactions to setting changes and a lot of other things. I still have a lot to learn and I can't wait to be in Jerez to get back to work »
Takumi Takahashi: 21st – 1’33.870
« I tried to improve today but my crash yesterday made me lose a bit of confidence and I struggled to ride as fast today. We worked on the settings to make me feel more comfortable on the bike and I began to feel myself at the end of the day. We are going to go to Jerez for another test, on a circuit where I have already raced in Superbike. I will be better than in Valencia on a circuit that I did not know. It will be different with a MotoGP but at least I won't be starting from scratch. This should help me progress »
Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal
« This first test was very positive for Franco. It's easy for a rookie to get carried away by the bike as well as the competition when he discovers MotoGP. Franco approached this first work session with calm and diligence to work with his team, the HRC engineers and the Michelin technicians in order to understand the bike and the tires. He focused on this adaptation without trying to set a time. It's the right formula when you're starting out and he can be happy with himself. Having Takumi Takahashi to replace Tom was very useful to us because it allowed the new members of the team to get their bearings without delay by working with an experienced driver. I would like to thank HRC for this and Takumi for his work during these two days »
