Franco Morbidelli secured his first top 5 finish of 2021 with fourth place at the MotoGP Grand Prix of Portugal yesterday.
Crash MotoGP Podcast – Click here to hear Keith Huewen, Harry Benjamin and our very own Pete McLaren MotoGP talk
The 2020 runner-up joined the struggling Francesco Bagnaia and Joan Mir with a few laps left but failed to attack the Suzuki rider.
It’s no surprise that Morbidelli has been less impressed with Yamaha so far this year, as he was on a two-year-old motorcycle when he was their top rider last year.
And with improvements from every team this season, and especially from the 2021 M1 package that every other Yamaha rider except him has, this has resulted in a disappointing start to the season for the 2017 Moto2 World Champion.
Related articles
However, yesterday was a much more positive outing for Morbidelli, who moved up one place from his fifth qualifying during the race.
After the race, Morbidelli added: “I’m happy with today’s performance. It was a great race and I enjoyed fighting in the field at the beginning and then giving everything to finish second.
Related articles
“Unfortunately we didn’t make it because our potential was a little lower than at Pecco[BagnaiaandMirabericharestillverysatisfiedandhappywiththeresult”[BagnaiaandMirbutanywayI’mreallypleasedandhappywiththeresult”[BagnaiaundMiraberichbintrotzdemsehrzufriedenundglücklichmitdemErgebnis”[BagnaiaandMirbutanywayI’mreallypleasedandhappywiththeresult”
The Italian was also asked if the improvements from Qatar were due to him or the bike, to which Morbidelli said, “Um. It was a combination between me and the team.
“In Qatar we obviously didn’t manage to get the right mindset, while here we managed to get that mindset so that I can drive.
“It was a combination and hard to say which was more. It’s a success that belongs to me and the team. Us.”