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Forced to skip winter testing due to the aftermath of the accident suffered during a training session in Portimao, Franco Morbidelli faced his first test day of the year today in Jerez, riding the Ducati of the Pramac Racing team. It was a more than positive Monday for the Italian-Brazilian, not so much for the 3rd time recorded, but more for the progress made in his adaptation to the Desmosedici.
"It was a positive test and we return home with a good boost of confidence and good feelings. I went strong all day and did a good job with the team, working for a full day. Today's was a day that served us very well: I had a good feeling, which allowed us to do the work that we still lacked," Morbidelli said at the end of the test, explaining the work done with the team, "We tried to find a basic set-up that I liked and from there I tried to adapt even more to the bike, to communicate even better with the team, and to go strong and we managed to do everything. The set-up is not much different from the usual one, but it's nice to have your own setting and ride a bike that's yours and I also needed to do 80 laps with this bike, to get in tune with the package once and for all."
Making up for lost time in the preseason is not easy, but Morbidelli and the Pramac team are doing their best to make the most of the testing available to them.
"I'm at an early stage of my adventure with Ducati. So, I definitely need more experience, but a test like this definitely helps," Franco stressed. " For me, testing will be very important this year, since I missed five days of testing at the beginning of the year. If we want to achieve great results, which is possible since we have the potential to do so, we have to work differently, be more open and more willing to throw ourselves into the dark. However, I am very happy with the way we have worked in these first four races. We approached them the right way, even though we didn't have the experience."
While he has not yet achieved any major results with his new bike, it is much easier for Frankie to throw his heart over the hurdle than it was during his last stint at Yamaha.
"When you see yourself in front in a race, the energy is definitely different," the Ducatista admitted, " No matter how professional you try to be, it's something natural that you feel inside. I can say that because even though I haven't done anything with this bike yet, I feel the energy is totally different than before, because I know what we can do and I see myself very close to the top."
He may not yet be able to launch himself into double overtakes like the one performed by Francesco Bagnaia in the Spanish GP, but Morbidelli is aware of his potential and aims to use this burst of positive energy to continue his growth.
"Pecco is getting us used to pull these rabbits out of a hat, I still have too little experience on the bike," noted the 29-year-old, before setting the bar high for the next round on the calendar, "This good energy we carry with us in the days leading up to Le Mans, trying to carry it into the race weekend as well. We will have to keep our feet on the ground and aspire to direct Q2 on Friday, which is never easy. Then we'll see what speed I have and where I can get to. Already in Portimao I started to be fast, but I was especially fast in America and here in Jerez. In Austin I made a mistake in the race and I made a lot of mistakes here too and I couldn't be consistent because I didn't know the bike yet. Already if I could avoid making these big mistakes next weekend I would be very happy and I would be even more happy if I could also get the speed that we are showing."
