MotoGP, Morbidelli: "The testing incident was unusual and is now forgotten"

Forced to miss a good part of the winter tests, Franco Morbidelli was only able to become familiar with the Ducati in the first weekend of the season in Qatar and the responses he received at that time were as good as they were encouraging for the rest. What gives him confidence is the knowledge that he has accumulated a similar gap to the best between the Sprint Race and the long race, a symptom of progressive improvement.

"This data indicates that I made continuous progress in the three days of getting familiar with the bike on a circuit where everyone had done tests and accumulated more laps than me, among other things on a MotoGP bike. If we look at the gap that was halved compared to Saturday the indication is even more positive. Now we just have to continue like this -  he stated on the eve of the Portuguese GP - What can I expect? It's only Thursday and it's difficult to say. Certainly in Lusail I tried to get to know the Desmosedici, getting a good answer, now I will have to explore its potential."

From tomorrow the Roman rider will be back in action at the scene of the "crime", that of the famous crash at the beginning of February which knocked him out for a few moments and forced him into hospital. "I don't feel anything particular about being here again, or in any case nothing negative because it's a beautiful track and also because the accident I had was so unusual that a repeat on one of these bikes is technically unlikely. So I don't think that what happened will affect my way of thinking", he reassured, recalling the crash while he was riding a road version Panigale V4R.

Asked for his opinion about the hiring of Fermin Aldeguer by his team, Pramac, the 29-year-old said: "I am happy for him. He is very strong and has shown that he is truly competitive in Moto2, so he deserves to move up to the top class. What's more, the Ducati is a fantastic bike. I'm sure he will adapt easily."

Then pressed about the apparent simplicity with which the very young are promoted to the premier class, at the risk of burning out, the ex-Yamaha rider replied: "It's the category that everyone aspires to. Furthermore, times have changed. The proof is Acosta who did well in Lusail, impressing everyone. It’s easy to surprise everyone in a ten-lap race where you don't have to manage the tyres. But it was in any case fun", he concluded taking the "defence" of his colleague.