Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Successfully Conclude Misano Test

22-09-2021

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Successfully Conclude Misano Test

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP‘s Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli spent two days at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli trying out various items. They ended the Misano MotoGP Test in 7th and 17th place respectively in the combined timesheets.

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP‘s Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli were back aboard their YZR-M1s today for the second and last day of the 2021 Misano MotoGP Official Test. They secured 7th and 17th place respectively in the combined timesheets.

With the Gran Premio dell‘Emilia-Romagna four weeks away, the teammates used today‘s two sessions (09:30 – 13:00 and 14:00 – 18:00) to get a jump on Round 16 of the 2021 MotoGP World Championship.

Quartararo had two productive days of testing at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. He felt already in great shape during the San Marino GP but was looking to make another step for the Emilia-Romagna GP. This morning, he tried the prototype 2022 bike but soon shifted his attention to trying various settings for the 2021 spec.

El Diablo completed 65 laps on Day 1 and 77 laps on Day 2 for a 142-lap total. His best time, a 1‘31.959s set in today‘s morning session on lap 15/44, earned him seventh place in the overall Day 2 standings, 0.375s from first.

Morbidelli was feeling fully motivated to get to work at the Misano Test, but he had the difficult task to balance the objective to gain extra 2021 data with the need to get sufficient rest for his injured knee. He had already completed 32 laps on Day 1 but felt he could add some more on Day 2.

Though the Italian suffered three crashes today, he was unharmed and remained adamant to keep putting in more kilometres. He set a total of 38 laps on Day 2 for a 70-lap total. His best time today, a 1‘32.635 set in the morning session, saw him in 17th place in the combined results, 1.051s from the top.

Fabio Quartararo

"Today we focused more on the 2021 bike. It was great to try many things that we already wanted to try, to see the positive and negative sides of it. Everything is clear, so for Misano 2 we have already decided our set-up and race tyres. I also did a few laps on the 2022 bike this morning. I‘m quite happy, and I think we did a really great test today and yesterday."

Franco Morbidelli

"Like yesterday, I was trying to push a bit more with the bike in the areas where I wasn't feeling good, and it didn't play out well because I crashed. But it's okay. I did a crash test for the leg, and it didn't get any worse. I feel okay, and I'm pleased with the job we've done today, even if maybe I made too many mistakes. Anyway, it was the way for me to catch up as soon as possible with this new bike and trying to get the feeling back."

Massimo Meregalli

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP, Team Director

"Both Fabio and Franco started the Misano Test with two objectives: to gain extra information on the 2021 bike for the second race in Misano and to have a shakedown with the 2022 prototype M1. But the first objective was definitely the main goal. Concerning the prototype, we just wanted to give the riders a first feel. That was the only ’homework‘. The work on the 2021 bike was more important, also with an eye on Fabio‘s championship chances. We wanted to work on improving our performance, especially for the start of the Misano 2 race, because that would allow Fabio to put some extra pressure on our rivals. Fabio tested a lot of different things, and that brought clarity as to what the race set-up and tyres should be like for Misano 2. Franky had three crashes, but we can confirm that he is okay. For him a two-day test so soon after the 27-lap race was demanding. The race made his leg really tired, even more so because the Misano track doesn‘t allow the riders any rest. But he has managed to find a balance between getting in enough laps to improve his feeling with the bike, yet not over-doing it. Overall, he made a good step during this test, but now it‘s important for him to allow his leg to rest and heal before the next round at COTA.