Having missed five races after undergoing knee ligament surgery, it was always going to be a tough MotoGP™ return for new Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP star Franco Morbidelli. And much like every rider, the Italian found Sunday’s race at the Circuit of The Americas incredibly difficult, with high temperatures and the track’s challenging layout taking its toll. For Morbidelli then, it was always going to be one of his toughest battles. Chatting after the race to motogp.com, the 2020 World Championship runner-up admitted he had to slow down after eight laps to make the finish, and his physical condition is not yet up to scratch to meet the demands that COTA presented. It’s like this, my physical condition at the moment isn’t ideal to race here at COTA with these temperatures and this kind of track,” explained Morbidelli. A race winner at his home circuit in 2020, Morbidelli probably couldn’t have wished for a better schedule post-Austin.

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