MotoGP | Sepang Test Day 1: Morbidelli, “Really happy with the first day of testing” [VIDEO]

MotoGP Test Sepang Day 1 Petronas Yamaha SRT – Twelfth and eighteenth times for Franco Morbidelli and Fabio Quartararo on the first day of pre-season testing on the Sepang track. Given the few tests carried out over the last few months (the last one dates back to November), both riders concentrated on collecting data with used compounds, completing several runs aboard the M1.

A day of knowledge and analysis that will serve to lay the foundations for what concerns the work of the coming days. It should be noted that the Italian-Brazilian driver closed today's session with sixty laps, while the Spaniard completed fifty-eight laps.

Here are Franco Morbidelli's assessments: “We are really happy with the first day of testing. The feeling was similar to what I had at the end of 2018, even if today we weren't super fast. In this morning's session we focused on the set-up, given that they hadn't been back on track for two months. As for the afternoon, however, we worked more with used tyres, trying to collect data on the performance of the bike. The last time of the day was set with the soft compounds, but it wasn't a real attack on the time."

On Yamaha he added: “The bike rides well and is stable, which helps my riding style. It also adapts very well to the characteristics of this track. I am happy with the support the factory is giving me and the way they are listening to my feedback.”

Here are the words of Fabio Quartararo: “We couldn't wait to get back to riding after a two month break. It wasn't easy to adapt to a bike with so much power, even though I thought the first few laps would be more difficult. I'm actually happy because we took a step forward, given that in Jerez I needed more laps to set a time. Sepang has different characteristics and we must continue to work to try to find the best possible feeling in the braking phase. I'm really excited to keep learning."