Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider Franco Morbidelli returned from injury to finish 19th on the opening day of free practice with team-mate Tom Luthi in 22nd position.

The European summer heatwave continued with Morbidelli and Luthi enduring track temperatures of 50 degrees during preparations for Sunday’s Czech Republic Grand Prix.

Morbidelli was back on track after missing the previous race in Germany with a fracture in his left hand and set his fastest time in FP2. Now fully recovered Morbidelli is concentrating on getting back up to speed on his Honda RC213V after the mid-season summer break.

Luthi also posted his fastest time of the day in FP2 although the Swiss rider was disappointed to go only 0.5s faster than FP1 despite a good feeling with a new soft rear tyre.

Tomorrow’s FP3 session will be at 9:55am and then FP4 at 1:30pm followed by qualifying for grid positions at 2:10pm.

Franco Morbidelli: 19th, 1’57.498

“I am feeling good and I don’t have pain on the bike which is very positive. I am just working to get my mojo back and into a rhythm for the race. Overall I’m quite happy but we are still working to find the optimum set-up for these very hot conditions.”

Tom Luthi: 22nd, 1’57.729

“The track conditions were very hot but overall not a big problem. At the end of the FP2 session I had a good feeling with the soft rear tyre so it is a little frustrating because my position does not reflect that. We still need to find some balance with the bike and keep moving forward to the race on Sunday.”