Morbidelli conscious of form “collapse” despite Argentina MotoGP boost

Morbidelli enjoyed his best weekend since early 2021 last week at Rio Hondo, after qualifying fourth and finishing in that position in both the sprint race and the grand prix.

It marked his best results as a factory Yamaha rider, with the 2020 championship runner-up struggling throughout 2022 in his first full season with the Japanese marque’s works squad.

Although Morbidelli was easily the fastest Yamaha rider in Argentina, he is taking nothing for granted and is aware that his form may not be permanent at this stage given his previous woes on the bike.

“The best weekend for a while, I’m happy about that,” Morbidelli said after the Argentina GP.

Insight: 10 things we learned from the 2023 MotoGP Argentina Grand Prix

“We were quick in different conditions: half and half, wet, dry. That’s positive. We need to carry this momentum also into the next tracks.

“I keep my feet on the ground. I’m conscious in this category it’s very easy to collapse or come up, as you saw.

“So, I try to keep my feet on the ground. I take this as a great confidence injection for me, for the team also.

“I’m looking forward to Austin to see if the improvements here and the good feeling I had here is also in Austin.”

Morbidelli’s pace in Argentina was attributed by his team-mate Fabio Quartararo to the Italian always being strong on low-grip tracks.

For Morbidelli, “small modifications” and a better understanding of the package underneath him offered the biggest boost at Rio Hondo.

“[There was] a similar feeling compared to the dry,” he said about the bike. “There are some areas we are missing compared to the Ducatis, who is the aim and the reference.

“Anyway, we could tell something and try to do something.

“So, definitely the package worked this weekend, the improvements that the bike did in the straight is useful also in the wet. So, let’s see what happens in the future.

“We need to go forward and what happens in the next tracks and I can tell better.

“But for sure small modifications and getting to know the package very well, I think that helps. So, I take this result and I’m curious to see what happens in Austin.”