Franco Morbidelli and Fabio Quartararo complete another positive test in eighth and sixteenth place respectively, with the team learning even more than they’d hoped.
A three-day test at the Sepang International Circuit ended on a high today for the Petronas Yamaha Sepang Racing Team, with Franco Morbidelli, Fabio Quartararo and the whole team having made the most of the available track time as they clocked up 2,128km on their Yamaha YZR-M1 machines and making great progress throughout. Morbidelli and Quartararo improved their lap times on each day of the test, edging into the 1’59s today to finish up in eighth and sixteenth place respectively.
Morbidelli kicked his day off with an impressive time attack that saw him make a notable improvement on his lap time and move into the top ten positions, where he remained for the rest of the day. The Italian experimented with a completely different front-end set-up on his Yamaha YZR-M1 in an attempt to improve turning and he was satisfied with the results. Franco’s best overall effort of 1’59.141 came on lap 8 of 66 completed today.
His teammate Fabio Quartararo also started out with a time attack that also saw him break the 2’00 barrier. The Frenchman also completed his first simulation on a MotoGP bike, reporting a good feeling with the bike over 18 laps. After that, Fabio and his team continued working with the front suspension to try and find further improvements in braking and his line through the final corner. The rookie finished the test in 16th position after clocking his best time today on lap 13 of 77 completed.
After this successful test here at Sepang International Circuit, the next appointment for the Petronas Yamaha Sepang Racing Team will be the Qatar test on 23, 24 and 25 February, two weeks before the season-opening Grand Prix at the same venue.