A strong ride in the SpanishGP saw Petronas Yamaha’s Franky Morbidelli secure his and the team’s first MotoGP podium of 2021 after claiming third at Jerez.
Despite mounting his challenge on two-year-old machinery, Morbidelli proved to be strong from the moment the lights went out in Sunday’s race. The Italian holding on to his second place off the line, before dropping back to third on the fourth lap.
Drifting back from the front-runners in the middle of the race, the Petronas rider pushed hard to close the gap in the final laps. Defending carefully while looking to hone in on Pecco Bagnaia ahead, Morbidelli ultimately ran out of time to catch his fellow Italian. Crossing the line in a solid third for his first podium of the season and moving into eighth in the championship standings with 33 points.
“It was an incredible race,” Morbidelli exclaimed after the celebrations faded.
“We needed to work really precisely and I was able to push so hard throughout the entire race. This morning my Crew Chief Ramon [Forcada] was able to work a bit of magic to increase our grip and improve my feeling on the bike. The whole team has done a wonderful job this weekend and it meant that I was able to ride really strong and aggressively. We were able to get better and better, step by step, changing a little bit our style on the bike, and we were able to find something in the braking that allowed us to be so fast in the race and so consistent as well. So I’m really happy about that. This podium tastes fantastically sweet. I’m really, really happy.
“I tried to keep Pecco behind me for as long as possible. I didn’t even realise that he overtook me in the straight, it was like I was just hit by lightning. After that I just tried to stay behind him, I put a hook behind him and just tried to go with him.
“This podium feels wonderful and it feels more sweet than usual. There is this shadow of frustration around us, that’s for sure but when we manage to make good results we’re just happy. I am just happy. I just try to live in the moment. Just try to enjoy the moment and don’t predict the future too much because this category is so tough, is so difficult, and you can be up there today, but you can be down there tomorrow. So I live and I enjoy the moment.”
The Italian’s ‘shadow’ obviously refers to the fact that the Petronas rider is still competing on the 2019-spec M1, with little allowance or possibility of advancing the Yamaha’s capabilities across the season.
“I spoke with Lin and I told him my thoughts about the situation” Morbidelli explained. “I was really frank with him, and he was really frank with me as well. He understood my feelings and he understood my situation, but we both finally came to the conclusion that I was unlucky. I was unlucky because of the contracts, because of the Covid situation, because of many things going on so I was unlucky, and I hope that what luck took from me this year is gonna give it back, somewhere in life.”
