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As he said himself yesterday, Franco Morbidelli’s feeling with the Honda RC 213V is improving, now feeling at ease when riding at the limit.
The team Marc VDS rider had the fifteenth best time in Jerez, so tomorrow he will start from the fifth row; not bad for a rookie, although Q2 was not that far off: “In fact, I thought I could do it – Franco reveals – because I didn’t make it by just three tenths. I think I will get there one step at a time, continuing to work. Now I feel good and I know what to expect from my bike, knowing its strong and weak points better. That instils courage in me and I think that I will be able to sleep peacefully tonight.”
Compared to the first three rounds, Franco and his team improved their performance.
“Yes, compared to the previous times – he admits – we have made good progress. Even in FP4, we did well and our race pace was good. We are working on the bike and we still aren’t entirely sorted, because we are riding on a very thin line. However, we have taken a step forward since Austin and now my Honda is more manageable and I am able to ride it. How I have what I need from the bike and despite the many mistakes made in qualifying – coming close to a crash on turn 8 – I did a good time.”
Tomorrow is the race - your fourth in MotoGP. What will you be aiming for?
“It will all depend on my tyre choice and my rivals’ tyre choice. It seems like here in Jerez, with the higher temperatures, we are the Honda team that struggles the least with tyre wear. I don’t know. I still need to analyse the data, but I’m hoping and I hope to do well tomorrow, finishing in the points.”
