PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team riders continue with their work programme at Sepang International Circuit and both finish inside top fifteen, with the rookie Fabio Quartararo in 14th and Franco Morbidelli in 15th.
Intense heat again welcomed the MotoGP teams and riders to the second day of a three-day test at Sepang.
With track temperatures reaching 59ºC, the PETRONAS Yamaha SRT riders continued working alongside their respective engineers on the set-up of their new Yamaha YZR-M1 machines.
With close lap times throughout the field, Fabio Quartararo ended the day in fourteenth position, just one place and 0.043 seconds ahead of his teammate Franco Morbidelli.
The French PETRONAS Yamaha SRT rider was first out onto the track, taking advantage of the cooler morning conditions to set three consecutive fast laps and improve on his best time from yesterday.
Quartararo was also able to work on the electronics set-up and on the front suspension as he looked to improve under braking. Fabio finished the day in fourteenth position, with a best time of 2’00.108 set on his 11th lap of 58.
Franco Morbidelli had the misfortune of crashing in turn 1 after exiting pitlane during the first hour of the day, meaning he missed out on the ideal track conditions for a time attack.
Despite the setback, the Italian continued to make progress and managed to improve on his best time from yesterday, clocking a 2’00.151 on his 56th of 58 laps. Morbidelli also worked with his team on braking and was satisfied with the notable improvements made in this area.
The PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team will be back on track tomorrow for the third and final day of the test, from 10am until 6pm Malaysian time.
#21 Franco Morbidelli
“Today we focused on improving grip and trying to set a good pace on used tyres. I am happy with the work we have done and with the progress we made on both tyre compounds. It was a shame to crash so early because we missed out on the coolest part of the day and the chance to make a good time attack. In general, we have improved the feeling from yesterday so I am happy. We are showing some good form in the test but we still have a lot of work to do. Tomorrow we will continue working, try to improve our performance and make more progress overall. We will keep pushing to the maximum.”
#20 Fabio Quartararo
“The second day here at Sepang International Circuit has been very positive. This morning we set some good lap times on the new tyres and made the most of the track conditions to make a time attack, which I was really happy with. This afternoon we tried to improve but it wasn’t possible. We worked a lot on the setting of the bike, especially under braking, where we managed to improve the feeling. This evening we will analyse the data and come back tomorrow to try and improve the lap time and make more progress under braking, which is the area we have most room to improve.”
RESULTS
1. MAVERICK VIÑALES / Yamaha 1:58.897
2. ALEX RINS / Suzuki +0.527
3. JACK MILLER / Ducati +0.620
4. ANDREA DOVIZIOSO / Ducati +0.665
5. CAL CRUTCHLOW / Honda +0.669
14. FABIO QUARTARARO / PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team +1.211
15. FRANCO MORBIDELLI / PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team +1.254
