KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 8 ― Petronas Yamaha Sepang Racing Team (SRT) Moto Grand Prix (GP) riders ― Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli ― displayed a stellar performance after finishing top two spots in the first two free practice sessions of the Czech Republic GP at the Brno Circuit yesterday.
Quartararo, who sits comfortably at the top of MotoGP World Championship with 50 points following back-to-back race in Spain last month, posted a time of 1 minute 56.502 seconds in the combine practice session standings, followed by Morbidelli who just adrift by 0.007 seconds.
Portuguese rider, Miguel Oliveira of Red Bull KTM Tech 3 in third place, clocking 1 minute 56.55 seconds.
“At the end of the second session, I was trying to find a way to ride differently to improve how the tyre feels and it worked and we finished quickest,” Quartararo was quoted as saying in the statement issued by the team today.
“Now, we need to think about how we can improve this further, check the data and make sure that we are as prepared as we can be for the qualifying round tomorrow, and also the Sunday race,” the 21-year-old Frenchman added.
Morbidelli was also happy after clocking a better timesheet using the accurate type of tyres during the combine free practice session.
“There are some things that we need to understand, especially which tyre to use in the race, because with the changing track conditions, it’s not clear what the best option is at the moment,” he said.
“I’m really happy with this first day here though and I’m looking to work with the team tonight to make sure we’re getting the best performance out of everything again tomorrow,” said the 25-year-old Italian who are still seeking to make a breakthrough this season.
Both riders will continue with two other practice sessions later today followed by the qualifying session to decide the grid position. ― Bernama
