Morbidelli: ‘Yamaha is like riding on butter’

Franco Morbidelli showed just how tough it is to be fast on a satellite Honda by jumping straight from the Marc VDS RCV to the new Petronas Yamaha M1 and coming sixth fastest overall in Valencia.

Riding what is still a 2018 M1 despite being promised a 2019 bike for the start of the season, the Italian impressed with his smoothness and consistency and said this was only the beginning.

“I’m happy with the bike, but this test is still only an opportunity to understand it and to see what its good and weak points are,” he told MCN. “I need to change to a smoother riding style, too. My style is already quite smooth but this bike calls for that style when you jump on it. It’s like riding on butter; the feeling is so nice!”