“Today was a strange day,” said Franco Morbidelli on Saturday in Spielberg. «In the morning I had the feeling that we had made progress, our pace was decent and our lap time was good. Even if I was skipped a lap because I hit the green stripe, I wasn’t far from the top. But in the afternoon we saw that our potential was not that great. So we tried to gamble: I made a different tire choice, but it didn’t pay off in the end. Because the feeling with the hard front tire and the medium on the rear wheel was not perfect to start a time attack. However, we are in the same boat as the other Yamaha riders – apart from the tire choice ”, he referred to the problems of the M1 at the Red Bull Ring and 6th and 10th place for Maverick Viñales and Fabio Quartararo in Q2. Valentino Rossi even missed entry into the decisive second qualifying session after a fall and is only 14th on the grid on Sunday.
“Hard and medium, that’s a bit strange for a qualifying”, confessed “Franky”, who will start from 10th place at the Styria GP thanks to the penalty for Johann Zarco. “But we had to try something unusual to see if it would bring anything. But the risk was not rewarded. ” The Petronas Yamaha driver denied that the aftermath of the horror crash could still have a negative impact on his performance: “Not on one lap, no.”
On Saturday, another piece of news caused a stir: Marc Márquez has to take a break of two to three more months. “I’m sorry for him, I don’t even know what to say about it,” said Morbidelli, surprised. “I assume he’s trying to get completely healthy. That’s right, especially after a serious injury. Because we mustn’t forget that he broke his upper arm – a big bone that is also very important when it comes to motorcycling. So he will try to recover as much as possible. An excellent decision. “
After the first operation on the upper arm, however, the eight-time world champion tried a comeback just four days later, which, as is well known, then had to break off. “I don’t know the extent of the ‘second injury’, so it’s difficult to say anything about it,” mused the Moto2 World Champion from 2017. “I don’t know whether he’s waiting because the injury has to heal well or because of it the World Cup has already written off. “
MotoGP Q2 result, Spielberg, August 22nd
1. Pol Espargaró, KTM, 1: 23.580 min
2. Nakagami, Honda, 1:23,602
3. Zarco, Ducati, 1: 23,632 *
4. Mir, Suzuki, 1: 23.678
5. Miller, Ducati, 1:23,700
6. Viñales, Yamaha, 1:23,778
7. Rins, Suzuki, 1:23,782
8. Oliveira, KTM, 1: 23,797
9. Dovizioso, Ducati, 1: 23.849
10. Quartararo, Yamaha, 1: 23.866
11. Morbidelli, Yamaha, 1: 24.021
12. Petrucci, Ducati, 1: 24.174
The rest of the starting grid
12. Lecuona, KTM, 1: 23,928
13. Binder, KTM, 1: 23,932
14. Rossi, Yamaha, 1: 24,127
15. Pyrrhus, Ducati, 1: 24.273
16. Alex Marquez, Honda, 1: 24,370
17.Crutchlow, Honda, 1: 24,401
18. Smith, Aprilia, 1:24,416
19. Aleix Espargaró, Aprilia, 1: 24,429
20. Bradl, Honda, 1: 24,667
21. Rabat, Ducati, 1: 24,916
* Johann Zarco has to start from the pit lane.
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