Morbidelli calls first day with Ducati ‘smooth, was important to meet the bike’

Morbidelli didn’t have the pace of Marc Marquez who also jumped aboard a Ducati for the first time in his career, but nonetheless the Italian was pleased with his debut.

Morbidelli was the last rider inside a second of the top time which was set by Maverick Vinales, however, his best effort only resulted in a 16th place finish for the former Yamaha man. 

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Speaking to MotoGP.com, Morbidelli said: “It was a good first day. It was smooth and we did many laps. It was important to meet the bike, get to know the bike and understand as much as possible to see how it works and what it needs to be handled and used. 

“I started straight away with the new bike and I’m pretty happy. There are things I need to get better at and I need the bike to follow me. 

“We didn’t work on anything today. Just enjoyed it and made many laps to savour it.”

Also swapping teams for 2024 is Fabio Di Giannantonio, who got his first taste of the GP23 bike following his switch from Gresini Racing. 

Lining up alongside Marco Bezzecchi, and in the process forming one of the strongest pairings on the grid, Di Giannantonio was very pleased with the welcome he got from Valentino Rossi’s team. 

Di Giannantonio said: “I’m super happy about it. It was what I expected and the team is just fantastic. 

“They give the riders their best and they did it with me today. The welcome was amazing and I felt really warm. 

“It was a good day and on track we were quite fast. The work with the new bike started really well and it has been a great start to this new chapter.”