KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 17 ― Petronas Yamaha Sepang Racing Team (SRT) riders Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli are in top form once again after the pair ended day one of the Aragon Grand Prix (GP) in second and third place respectively.
Quartararo yesterday did experience a Turn 8 crash on his final flying lap but still finished the session third with a 1 minute 50.142 seconds lap in Free Practice One (FP1).
The French rider stayed at the sharp end throughout Free Practice Two (FP2) and enjoyed a period of time at the top of the timesheets as well where his fastest time of 1:48.020s placed him second in the session, and overall.
“It was not an easy day but it was quite positive. We had a strange crash in FP1, I’m still not completely sure why it happened but FP2 was great. On Saturday, it looks like we will need to do some laps with the soft rear tyre. I think it could be a good option for the race because the rhythm is good, but not great.
“In general though, it was a positive day. It will be important to not lose this rhythm but also to make sure we are prepared for the race as well,” said Quartararo in the statement issued by the team.
Although Morbidelli’s FP1 session came to an early end after a Turn 14 crash with just over eight minutes to go, the Italian ended the 45 minutes with the second-fastest lap time of 1:49.951s.
Immediately up to speed in the afternoon session, Morbidelli placed his Yamaha YZR-M1 at the top of the timesheets in the early part of FP2 where he ended the session third with 1:48.218s lap.
“It was a positive day for us and we have started the weekend well. In fact, all Yamahas were on top. The morning the conditions were tricky, the temperatures were low and the wind was blowing quite a lot. We seem to suffer a bit less than others in these conditions though.
“I made a mistake in the morning. I had a slow lap because of a yellow flag, then I started to push again too quickly and I crashed. Although we have a good lap time from today (last night) I will still try to push tomorrow (today). I think we can improve because the weather forecast says the conditions should be slightly better and there will be more rubber on the track,” he said.
The MotoGP Free Practice Three (FP3) session will begin at 10.25am local time (4.25 pm MYT) today, with qualifying due to get underway at 2.10pm local time (8.10pm MYT). ― Bernama
