Franco Morbidelli says riding the Yamaha is like “riding on butter”, after his first experience of the bike with the Petronas SRT team he will race for in MotoGP next year.
2017 Moto2 champion Franco Morbidelli will join the Sepang-run outfit along with debutant Fabio Quartararo next year, which takes over the Yamaha machinery Tech3 has dumped in favour of factory-supported KTMs.
Morbidelli spent his rookie year in MotoGP riding the aggressive Honda with the Marc VDS squad, and admitted after his first test on the M1 in Valencia he will have to change his riding style to one which is “much smoother” than he had on the RC213V.
“Yes, of course I think I will change to a much smoother riding style,” said Morbidelli in Valencia.
“My riding style is already quite smooth, and this bike just calls that riding style, when you jump on it it's like riding on butter.
“It's a quite nice feeling, and it comes naturally, I think it will come naturally. I won't force anything, I will try to follow the vibe of the bike.”
Morbidelli finished both the Valencia and Jerez tests last month sixth overall, and was second-best Yamaha rider at the end of both outings.
The Italian rode Johann Zarco's '16 chassis with the '18 engine during both tests, but will receive Yamaha's 'A-spec' bike next year, which will be factory-supported.
Commenting further on the differences between the Yamaha and the Honda, Morbidelli says the M1 is “not a lot less physical” than the RC213V, but rather it reacts smoother.
“It's not a lot less physical, it's everything that happens on the bike happens much smoother, I think because of the size of the bike.
“The dimensions are completely different, and my previous bike was quite rough, was quite reactive.
“Not nervous, you might see it from the television a bit nervous, but the word is reactive because everything that happens happens fast.”
Morbidelli ended his debut premier class season as top rookie in 15th in the standings on 50 points, with a best finish of eighth in Australia.
The Marc VDS team will scale back its racing efforts next year to just a Moto2 operation with Alex Marquez and Xavi Vierge, after the Belgian squad encountered internal issues.
