MotoGP | Qatar GP Race: Franco Morbidelli, “Rear shock absorber problem”

MotoGP GP Qatar Yamaha Petronas SRT 2021 – Race to forget for Franco Morbidelli in Qatar. The Italian-Brazilian rider of Team Yamaha Petronas had a problem with his rear shock absorber which relegated him to a back-up position.

“Morbido” also had a problem on the grid with the hole-shot (a device that lowers the bike at the start, ed.) a problem that seemed solved, but which then in the race still gave strange sensations to the number 21 of the Iwata manufacturer.

In the end he crossed the finish line in eighteenth place, over 20 seconds behind the winner Maverick Vinales. For the next race scheduled for Sunday also in Qatar, he hopes to have solved this problem. Here's what he said.

Statements Franco Morbidelli GP Qatar Race

“The sensation I had was of an anomalous behavior of the rear shock absorber. It's as if it were deflated, as if I didn't have hydraulics, the consequence was to turn very slowly. We don't know the causes, but there are moments of the day, when it's sunny, where we don't have this problem. We have to study to solve it. Something happened both in the tests and this weekend, especially as mentioned when the temperatures drop. At night I have a lot of difficulty driving and I have to take a lot of risks to set the times.”

Statements Franco Morbidelli problem on the grid GP Qatar Race

“There was a problem on the grid, something strange, inexplicable, so there's definitely something wrong. The hole-shot (device that lowers the bike at the start, ed.) didn't work, then we managed to fix it, but during the race I had a strange sensation. We have to solve it because the races pass, there is something wrong. Ramon (Forcada, his crew chief, ed.) is already analyzing the data and in sad moments like this we have to think positively.”