He came in 14th, but Franco Morbidelli was still smiling. His results for the day were definitely positive, and the cause of that not very great position was a fall, which prevented Franco from improving.
“Unfortunately, when I got on the track with new tires to reach a good time," he explained, "I slipped at Turn 13. In the entrance lap, I slowed down a lot to get out of the traffic and, when I started going again, I wasn't concentrated enough. I didn't think that the tire was cold and, at Turn 13, I ended up falling. The thing that I'm really upset about is that I fell because I wasn't concentrated. I wasn't pushing, but it can happen."
Aside from that, Franco said he had great sensations being able to ride his Yamaha M1 again.
“It was really nice to be able to enter the garage again, work with the team, and then get out on the track. I wanted to first regain confidence with the bike today, and I'd say that the answers were comforting right from the first lap. Certainly, there are things to improve, but that's normal, since the situation we've been through."
We can also see the good work Yamaha has done because of the two Iwata motorcycles in the first two positions, even if Morbidelli warns everyone about who the man to beat is going to be.
“Yamaha has made great strides when it comes to our weaknesses, namely acceleration and grip, as we can see by the fact that, from morning to afternoon, my performance did not deteriorate, even with worn tires. Besides the standings, the fastest today with worn tires was Marquez, who is currently the man to beat on this track."