Valentino Rossi “must have had fun, watching his bike on top”
V🦂alentino Rossi watches from the pit wall as Franco Morbidelli leads, survives mid-race drꦗop and claims post-race Qatar podium.
With mentor and team boss 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Valentino Rossi watching from the pit wall, 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Franco Morbidelli led a Moto🃏GP race for the first time since 2023 on his way to a ‘delayed’ podium finish.
Morbidelli had pou꧑nced for the lead after the Marquez brothers collided at Turn 1 then held it until just before half-distance.
But the tide turned quickly against him when Maverick Vinales triggered a wave of four riders passing Morbidelli in🌠 rapid succession.
“I started to panic a little bit,” the 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:VR46 Ducati rider admitted, fearing he'd overheated his 🅘tyres.&nb🍌sp;
Riding conservatively, Morbidelli later realised he may have backed off too much: “At the end I had more tyre and could overtakꦆe Zarco.”
That move for fourth turned into third when Vinales was punished with a post-race tyre pressure pena🦩lty, handing Morbidelli 💧his first double-podium weekend in MotoGP.
“I’m sorry for Maverick because he did an unbelievable race,” said Morbidelli. “But I'm happy for me and for the team. Getting this P3 after the race is eve♐n more adrenaline.”
TV cameras showed seven-time world champion Rossi, wearing fu✃ll VR46 team gear for the first time this weekend, watching the race unfold from the pit wall.
“Vale’s presence was worth a great performance and we managed to do that so I'm real🍬ly happy,” Morbidelli said.
“Even the first 10 laps le🤪ading the race𒁏 I was thinking about how much fun he must have had watching his bike on top.
“I'm ܫreally satisfied with the performance of the weekend and this ‘aftermath’ p🔴odium is a great ending.”
Qatar wasn’t the first time Morbidelli’s podium hopes dep𓄧ended on the outcome of a post-race tyre pre♔ssure penalty.
Morbidelli had been poised to move up to third in Indonesia last year when Pedro Acosta was put under invest💧igation, only for the KTM rider to be left off due to a leaki𓂃ng wheel rim.
“I already had this experience last year with Acosta's podium in Indonesia,” Morbidelli said. “So I knew how nerve-racking it cou🅺ld have been. This time, I had a happier outcome.”
But Morbidelli also spared a thought for Vinales: “He was unbelievably fast. So that great sp🐼eed stays.”
Morbidelli returns to Europe holding fourth place in the wꦑorld championship.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and g꧃o. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marque🍌z’s injury issues.
