[Rassegna stampa] – From the first tests we have the impression that a good part of the Yamaha team, aside from Valentino Rossi, may be able to worry Marc Marquez. And with a ‘new’ Maverick Viñales in the pits, optimism is really high.
“First place and usual crash, Marc Marquez did not miss anything on the first day of free practice, including a bit of driving school for his brother Alex, lost on the hot asphalt of Jerez (50th). If the Marquez-Honda duo is a certainty, so is the competitiveness of a Yamaha that aims to return to the throne 5 years after Jorge Lorenzo’s triumph. Maverick Viñales shot near Marquez, while the couple Petronas Morbidelli-Quartararo was awarded in the afternoon. Valentino Rossi is missing from Iwata’s appeal, struggling with ancient problems. Meregalli admitted that his team had more problems in two shifts than in all tests. On the other side of the Viñales pits, instead, the devastating one of the beginning of 2017 seems to have returned, with in addition a serenity that did not belong to him then. He seems to have changed, a man who is comfortable with the people he works with, stops to chat, interacts. In the paddock it is rumored that the cause of the change is Father Angel, with whom Maverick has re-established relationships. But he also separated from his factotum Alex Salas, never too loved in the box“.
Paolo Ianieri, The Gazzetta dello Sport
“The first day by Marc Marquez (best time in the morning) does not overshadow Franco Morbidelli’s exploit in the afternoon. The Roman even detached Quartararo in the most significant round. His M1 brilliantly passed the test of the hot asphalt of Jerez which in the second free practice put Valentino Rossi in difficulty («The usual problem of poor adhesion to the rear»), the Ducati (Dovizioso 4th and best of the Reds) and even the Spanish Honda champion, protagonist of a harmless crash. We will have to sweat to qualify, but it is the confirmation of the newfound competitiveness of the Yamaha, coming out well from the torrid debut“.
Corriere della Sera
