PETRONAS Yamaha SRT Hard at Work on Portimão Opening Day
16-04-2021
Valentino Rossi and Franco Morbidelli end day one in Portugal 15th and 19th.
The opening day of the PortugueseGP proved to be one full of hard work for PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team and its MotoGP riders with a drying track and the expectation of better conditions later in the weekend presenting a challenge. At the end of the two Portimão Free Practice sessions Rossi was 15th and Morbidelli 19th.
Rossi used the start of FP1 to complete a slightly longer initial run than his team-mate, while the track continued to dry from overnight rain, before setting a series of quick laps in the closing minutes. Valentino’s final lap saw him post the 11th fastest time: 1min 43.013secs. The Italian focused on his race pace in FP2 and then opted to save some tyres for tomorrow’s session, setting a 1min 41.125secs lap that placed him 15th in both FP2 and in the combined times.