RiderTua.com – Franco Morbidelli admits that he has experienced improvements in his adaptation to Ducati even though he fell on the first lap of the Portuguese GP. The newcomer to the Pramac team crashed after contact with Joan Mir (Repsol Honda), but then got back up to continue the race. In fact his speed was strong enough to finish in the top 10.
Morbidelli had a strong Friday. Despite experiencing crashes on Saturday and Sunday and only finishing 16th in the sprint race and finishing last or 18th in the main race at the Algarve Portimao circuit, the Italian-Brazilian rider was happy.
Franco Morbidelli is gentle, doesn’t want to compare Ducati and Yamaha
Franco Morbidelli said he learned how to corner with this bike and he was able to go home quite satisfied. “In terms of results, it’s not there yet, because during the race I made a mistake at the start. I made a bad start and was stuck in the group. I went wide and then fell.”
“After that the results were unpredictable, but the rhythm was very acceptable and very decent. I still need to learn everything but some things we are aware of will happen. We just need to keep going and speed it up,” added the VR46 student.
Even so, Franky is not 100 percent comfortable with the Ducati bike and one of the reasons is because he races without feeling free. Franky revealed that what he missed most about bikes was information and the freedom to do things reflexively. He was too focused to use a different device and gear lever than usual.
Franky doesn’t focus too much on riding and maximizing riding. That’s what happens when there’s a lack of experience and a lack of tests. After missing pre-season testing, the 29 year old rider had very limited time with Ducati.
And when asked about his feelings compared to the Yamaha, Franky didn’t want to say anything. He doesn’t want to compare because it’s not fair in his opinion. He wanted to remain a gentleman in this matter. All he could say was that he felt fine. He feels very good on the bike and if you look at his rhythm in the race, not having the freedom to ride and having margins, but his rhythm is still good. “Still good enough for 6 or 7. I’m impressed with that. I’m impressed with the package and feel a lot of potential with the package,” answered Jorge Martin’s teammate.
