Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli started the Grand Prix de France weekend today. The teammates were keen to secure a place in the top 10, but ultimately ranked 12th and 17th respectively in the combined Friday results. Both riders will participate in tomorrow’s Q1.
Quartararo was fully motivated to start his home GP after the successful pre-event French GP Parade on Wednesday. He used the sunny but somewhat chilly P1 to get straight to work. He was featuring inside the top 6 for most of the session, but the pace quickened towards the end. He wrapped up the morning with a 1’31.946s, set on lap 20/20 to finish in 11th place, 0.497s off the fastest time.
The home hero was determined to find a time improvement in the afternoon. He used the 60-minute P2 session to the fullest, leaving no stone unturned. He gave it his all on his final run, but he was gradually relegated to 12th place in the final results. His best time of 1’31.650s, set on lap 25/29, also put him in 12th place in the combined timesheets, with a 0.700s margin to the number one spot.
Morbidelli started P1 with the objective to confirm the settings he tried at the IRTA Jerez Test almost two weeks ago. The Italian featured inside the top 10 early on in the session, but as the pace gradually quickened, he was pushed down the rankings. He responded by improving his time to a 1’32.153s on lap 20/21, which put him in 13th place, 0.704s from the top.
Morbido didn’t have the afternoon he had hoped for. An early crash in Turn 14 in the one-hour afternoon session lost the number-21 rider significant time. However, unhurt, the Italian spent the remainder of P2 tweaking his bike’s setting. He was pushing once again in the final minutes of the session and completed the afternoon practice in 16th place with a 1’32.143s, set on lap 16/18. The time puts him in 17th position in the combined practice classification, 1.193s from first.
MASSIMO MEREGALLI
Team Director
We tried different things, but we need to find more time in various parts of the track, especially in Sector 3. In the end, both our riders were not able to secure a place in tomorrow’s Q2. Franky also had a crash in P2, but he is okay. Being in Q1 makes the weekend more difficult. We have a lot of work to do for tomorrow, so we need to stay focused. It will be vital to do a good job in Q1 to secure a place more towards the front of the grid for the Sprint and the Race.
FABIO QUARTARARO
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider
We are trying to find a base, and we are doing our best to make a step tomorrow. I’m always giving my 100% on the bike, all the time. I’m doing my best, trying to find a solution, and working hard. We miss performance. We’re trying to improve the feeling. The fans are the most positive part of today. I will give my 100% to make them happy.
FRANCO MORBIDELLI
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider
It was a complicated day. We tried some solutions to improve the package, but unfortunately nothing helped. We have to go back to a base that we know tomorrow, a more standard package, and see if we can extract some more potential.
- From Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP
<
