Malaysian outfit riders Fabio and Franco ready to rumble in Argentina

PETALING JAYA: Italian rider Franco Morbidelli is oozing with confidence after a positive start to the MotoGP season – and he is hoping to extend his good run in the Argentina Motorcycle Grand Prix tomorrow.

Now riding for Malaysian outfit Petronas Yamaha Sepang Racing Team, Morbidelli returns to the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit where he finished on top of the podium in Moto2 in 2017.

He also took two points for Marc VDS Honda at the same track when he made his debut in the premier class en route to winning the Rookie of the Year award last year.

Morbidelli had a positive start to the season when he earned five points for the team by finishing at 11th place in the opening race in Qatar earlier this month and he is now in buoyant mood for more in Argentina.

“Over the last couple of weeks I have taken the chance to relax and recover so that I can go into the Argentina GP with renewed energy,” said Morbidelli.

“I like the track in Argentina a lot, so it will be fun to go back to Termas de Rio Hondo and feel the passion and the support of the Argentinian fans again.

“I’ve great memories of my past performances there. I managed to take a dominant win at the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit.

“There are many factors that have to come together to make a good result in MotoGP, so in this second race we are going to try to learn from our mistakes, improve on the result from Losail (International Circuit in Qatar) and demonstrate our true potential.”

Meanwhile his French teammate, Fabio Quartararo started on a high in Qatar, when he took fifth place in the qualifying for the best qualifying performance by a rookie in the premiere class since 2008.

But the weekend ended on a low after finishing in 16th place as an incident on the starting grid forced him to a pit-lane start. But he fought back and set the fastest lap of the race.

Quartararo believes he can score points in Termas de Rio Hondo.

“I like the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit because it has some wide corners. It is a little bumpy but I am sure it will be good fun to ride a MotoGP bike there,” said Quartararo.