MotoGP | Morbidelli: “This result is good fuel for me”

Argentina provided not only an extremely hard-fought and spectacular Sprint Race, but also a reinvigorated Franco Morbidelli. The Yamaha Roman is back in the top positions after a long period of difficulty and the Termas de Rio Hondo Sprint Race has once again offered us the Soft that we have always known. Started from the fourth box, he remained by a whisker at the foot of the podium, conquered the fourth place at the finish line.

Morbidelli only gave way to the two Ducatis of the Mooney VR46 team in the final, when his tire said enough, preventing him from continuing his incredible progression. However, the Italian-Brazilian managed to get ahead of everyone in the early stages of the Sprint Race, rediscovering those sensations that he had long lost: “It was nice. I had a good start, but in the first corner I was a bit too excited, there was a big patch of wet and I got scared, I went wide and lost the first position”.

“I was able to recover and lead the race for a couple of laps. It was an amazing feeling, really good. Then I had less potential than the Ducatis. I tried to get the most out of it and bring home the best result possible. It’s a fourth place, I accept it. The team deserves it, they are working hard to recover. We have to work even harder together. These types of results are good fuel for me…not results, but performances of this type”, explains Morbidelli.

Already from Friday free, Soft he had shown himself in form, much more than his teammate, lost and stuck in the rear. If Quartararo complains about a power that he is unable to exploit, the # 21 is able to get the most out of an engine that in his hands today shows great strides forward. In fact, in the Sprint Race he was so fast that even Luca Marini, astride the Ducati, found himself in difficulty when it came to overtaking him.

“The bike is very fast on the straights. This is a credit that goes to the team and engineer Marmorini. A big, big thank you to them. They have done a great job to improve the engine, we have a lot more potential this year. I thought of all the engineers and of Marmorini who helped me maintain my position on the straight. We managed to be very difficult to overtake. We have to take it as a positive thing. Last year they took us out on the straight,” explains the Yamaha rider.

Despite the steps forward, Morbidelli is aware of the weaknesses of his M1, especially the grip. In fact, with a realistic analysis of the situation, he doesn’t want to make proclamations in view of Sunday’s race, but will obviously aim for the maximum: “It’s fantastic, but there are still areas we need to work on, grip for example isn’t our strong point.” . Tomorrow in the long race, however, I will try again. Top six positions? I don’t know, but that’s the goal.”

Net of the result he will be able to obtain in Sunday’s race, Morbidelli is extremely satisfied with the fruits collected in the Sprint Race at Termas after the hard work and the bitter pills swallowed: “This result was very useful, I’m full of joy. The engine is a great foundation to build on. I’m happy with that and let’s see if we can sort out our issues during the year. I have to keep my feet on the ground and think about tomorrow’s race, thinking about getting this kind of performance in Austin. If I succeed, we can think of building some performances on this good basis”.