PETRONAS Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo ends pre-season test on top

Michelle Liew

November 20, 2019

The PETRONAS Yamaha riders managed to clinch first and third place in Valencia.

The 2020 MotoGP World Championship pre-season test has commenced in Valencia, Spain, and PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team has had a great start as riders Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli both secured first and third place respectively at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo.

Quartararo spent most of the rest of the day as the fastest rider. Although he encountered a fall at Turn 10 in the final hour, he was able to bounce back and cap his run at 1:30.163secs. Morbidelli, on the other hand, managed to deliver quality performance before the temperatures of the track increased. He ended his run at 1:30.665secs, resulting in a third-place finish with just0.487secs behind his teammate.

Franco Morbidelli (PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team)- As It Happened

Photo credits: Yamaha Racing

“It was a positive day for us because we were able to try a couple of things like new aerodynamics, some chassis components and the carbon fibre swing-arm and try and increase the performance of the bike. Some things were good and some weren’t quite as good. Of course, but in the end, it was a productive day for us. We were fast as well, which is nice. It’ll be a case of trying to improve a little bit more and understand the new parts a little better tomorrow. The most important job for tomorrow will be to reconfirm what we tried today and maybe to try some more new parts as well,” says Morbidelli as quoted from Yamaha Racing.

Fabio Quartararo (PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team)- As It Happened

Photo credits: Yamaha Racing

“We tested many things including new wings and a carbon fibre swing-arm and spent a lot of time doing back-to-back comparisons between the old and new parts. It means that we’ve already got an idea of all the positives and negatives of what we tried, and a plan for tomorrow on where we need to concentrate. I’ve had good confidence and feedback from the bike all day. It’ll be useful to work on some areas tomorrow to improve the all-round package. When I crashed I was on a time attack lap but with a front tyre that was a bit used and I just braked a little too much – but we were able to make four more laps after the crash to check everything was fine.”