Petronas Yamaha's Franky Morbidelli went back to a setup from the 2020 MotoGP season to try and fix his woes and was able to at least fight with the MotoGP pack.

The Italian finished in 12th place after starting in tenth but it was a far better result than the week before where he was second to last.

"A difficult 10 days here in Doha. We struggled to understand well how the package was working," said Morbidelli.

"We did a big modification, we went back to a configuration similar to 2020 at the beginning for the year. In the race it was better than the last one for sure. I was engaged and able to fight.

"Starting from 10th position and not having the fastest bike on the pack was really tough to fight. At least I had the chance to do it.

Then the problems, similar problems to the beginning of 2020 came. I finished the tyre too soon and I wasn’t able to be consistent and fast all race.

"We improved this compared to the last race. I improved the feeling compared to the previous nine days. That’s a good thing.

"Of course it’s not what we want but it’s a good thing. Have to be positive and that is why we were able to improve the feeling.

"A bit worrying but that’s what helped us today and what was useful today. We made the right choices, I would say."