MotoGp, VR46: Franco Morbidelli believes in the coup

Just 185 thousandths is the gap between Franco Morbidelli’s best time on Friday in Valencia and the 1:29.240 set by Pedro Acosta, which earned the Spaniard first overall. Looking ahead to Saturday’s qualifying and Sprint, as well as Sunday’s race, the Italian-Brazilian rider of the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team is convinced he can take his Ducati even higher.

“I am happy with how the day went, today we worked well right from the start – said Morbidelli on the sidelines of the day of timed practice -. The team adapted very well to the conditions, which were quite tricky. We are very pleased with what we did today, especially coming from Portimao, where the feeling was not the best”.

“We had a good performance and finished the day in the Top 3. We are close to the top, we want to continue like this and also improve. We won the direct Q2, if we continue in the direction we took today, we have a good chance to fight in the front” said again the rider of the team founded by Valentino Rossi.

Morbidelli is coming off a below-expectations weekend in Portugal, where he finished 15th in the Sprint Race, then retired 24’hours later in the Sunday race following a crash on the first lap. The 30-year-old rider is currently seventh in the world standings with 227 points, 12 less than teammate Fabio Di Giannantonio, who precedes him in sixth.