Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider Franco Morbidelli finishes 19th overall in free practice with rookie teammate Tom Luthi looking for improvement from 23rd on day one.

Morbidelli and Luthi took to the fast and sweeping Assen circuit in advance of Sunday’s Dutch TT under a cloudless sky in ideal conditions.
But it was the morning FP1 session when Morbidelli produced his best lap at 1’34.820 using the soft rear tyre for an impressive top ten performance. However the young Italian could not capitalise on that performance in FP2 and he finished a frustrating day to be 19th on combined times.
Today’s practice sessions were Luthi’s first time on the iconic 4.54km layout in MotoGP aboard the Honda RC213V and it proved a challenging exercise.
Luthi could not settle into the smooth rhythm which is crucial for fast times at the sweeping Assen circuit and was disappointed to be 23rd overall despite going 0.3s faster in FP2.

Both riders are determined to make a step forward in tomorrow’s FP3 session at 9:55am and then FP4 at 1:30pm followed by qualifying for grid positions at 2:10pm.

Franco Morbidelli: 19th, 1’34.820
“It was a tricky day overall. I started strongly in the morning to be eighth fastest but then in the afternoon we tried some things that didn’t work very well and I could not go faster. Now we need to analyse the data and combine the best options for tomorrow to make sure we have a clear direction for qualifying.”

Tom Luthi: 23rd, 1’36.129
“I am fighting a bike that feels very nervous so it was a difficult day at this track where you need to be smooth and calm to set a fast time. We are still working to find a set-up for the ideal rhythm and although I was faster in the afternoon we are still need a solution to be in a better position for qualifying.”