Franco Morbidelli “very tired, but grateful” after Qatar MotoGP
Franco Morbidelli: ‘The importantꦫ thing is that everything is OK with me, my head. Now it's time to keep working and chasing 𝕴the top guys’.
After a nightmare pre-season in which he was unable to test for his new Pramac Ducati team, 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Franco Morbidelli progressed from 22nd and last in FP1 to finish 18th in the Qatar MotoGP.
The Itali✅an’s pre-season preparations were brutally halted by a head injury ജwhile training on a Superbike at Portimao in January.
Missing both the Sepang and Qatar tests, the former Yamaha rider only received the OK from doctors to return to MotoGP action a few daysꦜ before the season opener.
That meant Morbidelli was not only riding the ‘full’ specꦆ Desmosedici GP24 for the very first time in Friday practice, having tried an early version at last November’s Valencia test, bဣut had also been advised not to ride any kind of motorcycle as a precaution following his accident.
Friday night’s second practice was then effectively lost to a rain storm ꦯbefore Morbidelli moved ahead of Repsol Honda’s Luca Marini in Saturday practice.
The 29-year-old was back in last place, alb𒉰eit by only 0🐬.028s, during qualifying, then finished 20th and +23.267s in the Saturday Sprint race.
Further Sunday progress saw Morbidelli reach 13th in༺ warm-up, before effectively matching the Sprint deficit (+24.641s) in the grand prix, despite almost double the race laps, on his way to 18th in the grand prix.
“I am very tired, but so grateful that everything we꧂nt smoothly this weekend and everything went the right way,” Morbidelli said.
“I feel good w༺ith the bike. I was improving, improving and catching up to the top guys [during the weekend]. But that's not important. The impor𝓡tant thing is that everything is OK with me, my head. And now it's time to keep working and keep chasing the top guys.
“I got the ‘OK’ to come here [last] Monday. I was coming from a head concussion injury, so I was making tests to check out if I was OK. And after one month without doing anything, j𝓡umping on a bike and making a race weekend was a challenge.
“But it's a challenge that thanks to the people that thanks to all the VR46 family, all my fam♔ily, the team and the bike, it was possible to do.”
The next event will ♛be at Portimao, the scene of M𒉰orbidelli’s accident.
“It’s great. It’s a track that I l🔯ike. Of cou🍃rse, it’s the track where I had the accident but I don't remember it,” he said.
Team-matꦏe Jorge Martin t💞ook victory in the Sprint and was third in the grand prix.
Peteಞr has been in the paddock 🌄for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
