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MotoGP, Morbidelli: "The Ducatis are close to the limit, there are no strategies against them"

"We still have a little margin. Miller says I'm the favourite? They are more so. I will have to do the corners faster than Jack and Pecco "

MotoGP: Morbidelli: "The Ducatis are close to the limit, there are no strategies against them"

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It was a hot FP2 session at Losail, so much so that there are seven riders in less than three tenths of a second. Among these is also Franco Morbidelli, author of the seventh time trial of the day ahead of Aleix Espargarò's Aprilia.

Not a bad start then for the Italo-Brazilian from Rome, indicated as one of the prime candidates for the win this weekend in Qatar. Confidence transpires from Franco's face, but at the same time there are some question marks regarding the potential of the Ducatis.

“The day was positive - Franco declared - it didn't go badly and I am quite satisfied with the work we did. For Saturday we will have to try to reduce the gap from the Ducatis, especially in the last sector of the track, where we are struggling compared to them in terms of speed ".

The question is however what could be the way forward…

“I don't have any strategies against the Ducatis, in fact there aren’t any. In any case, I hope to be fighting for the podium on Sunday or for the win, even if we are only at the beginning of the weekend and it is too early to make predictions. I will certainly aim from tomorrow to find the right speed to take a step forward. As for the tyres, the idea is to use the soft one for the race ".

Meanwhile, Jack Miller has indicated Franco Morbidelli as the favourite for the win in Qatar…

“I hope to be the favourite (smiles). Looking at today's data and numbers, I would say however that the Ducatis are favourites. At the same time, nothing is certain yet, because the weekend has just begun and tonight it looked as if the Ducatis even had the same speed as in the tests. They are very strong on the straight, but we will have to try to be strong in other areas. "

The fact is that Morbidelli took a first step: getting into the top ten…

“Being in the top ten is certainly very important, given that FP2 was a sort of FP3 in all respects; in fact everyone tried to set their fastest time, using the double tyre. We saw a hard-fought session, of a very high level, so much so that I am seventh only two tenths down. The ranking is really short and it's something unusual ”.

The red bikes of Miller and Bagnaia are there in front dictating the pace at the end of Friday…

“My hope is that tomorrow in qualifying we will stay on these times, given that the Ducatis have proved to be really competitive. Personally and I sincerely hope so, I believe that the Ducatis are already close to the limit, while we’re still missing a bit before we get there. "

Seeing as battling in terms of speed with the red bikes seems complicated, one begins to wonder what cards the Petronas man can play…

“I don't have to fight against the Ducatis with top speed on the straight. I have to do the corners faster than them, that's all ”.

 

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