Morbidelli: “I was waiting for this day” | Engine failure, fall for Martin

After missing the entire pre-season, Franco Morbidelli made the most of his first MotoGP test since Valencia last November.

The new Pramac Ducati rider, who claimed his first points of the year with a surprise fourth in Saturday’s chaotic Spanish MotoGP Sprint, completed 82 laps of the Jerez circuit at Monday’s official test.

The Italian’s best lap put him an impressive third fastest, just 0.122s from Fabio di Giannantonio (VR46 Ducati), as he focused on set-up for his Desmosedici.

“It has been a great day,” said Morbidelli. “I am very happy to have had one full day to spend with my team.

“We did a great job; I could pay attention and time to several aspects of the bike, figuring out the best setting for me.

“I was waiting for this day, and I am really satisfied because of the work we have done, about the speed I had and the increasing feeling I had with the bike.”

Team-mate Jorge Martin, who like Morbidelli crashed out of Sunday’s grand prix, albeit while leading, was tenth fastest with 71 laps.

It was an eventful test for the Spaniard, who suffered an engine failure in the morning, leaving him with only one bike, before falling, without harm, at Turn 9 in the afternoon.

“We improved our base setup. We could have tried many things, and I am thankful for that,” Martin said.

 “I made a mistake at the end of the day when I was trying one of the [new items]; the wind affected my trajectory and so I crashed.

“In the end, my performance has been good today and I am satisfied with the job I have done, and I know we have solutions which allowed us to be fast and consistent.”