Franco Morbidelli finished in the top five on all three days of the MotoGP test at Sepang: Is the harmony in Valentino Rossi’s team helping him to regain his former strength?
VR46-Ducati rider Franco Morbidelli can look back on a very successful MotoGP test in Sepang. Morbidelli finished in the top five on all three days of testing and surprised everyone by setting the best time of the day on Thursday. On the final day, the Italian finished in P4, less than half a second behind.
“I’m very happy with the three days of testing. The team has done a really impressive job. The interaction with the new crew was fantastic. It was our first three days together, but we already get along very well. That’s very positive. We can build on that,” Morbidelli commented on the test in Malaysia.
“It’s a great boost to experience a start like this after a difficult year,” says the new VR46 signing, who is riding a 2024 Ducati as he did last year. Morbidelli is therefore already very familiar with the bike.
VR46 and Franco Morbidelli: The chemistry is right!
As a long-standing member of the VR46 Academy, he also knows most of the team members. The most important task at the Sepang test was to create a good working atmosphere, which Morbidelli says they have achieved.
“We had to find out how to understand each other properly,” explains Morbidelli. ‘It was about expressing what I expect from the bike and how they can implement it. It’s important to have the communication right. That’s the most important task when you join a new team. And we managed that very well.’
In Valentino Rossi’s team, Morbidelli was welcomed like a son. “The team works like a family. Every member of this family loves the sport that you love so much yourself. Everyone is pursuing the same goal,” Morbidelli enthuses about the atmosphere in the team.
MotoGP season with Rossi’s team “a unique opportunity” for Morbidelli
After a few difficult years, Morbidelli was given the chance by his mentor Rossi to make a fresh start at VR46. Morbidelli is aware of how valuable this opportunity is: “It’s a unique chance to work together now. I grew up in this environment. Now we are united.”
Morbidelli experienced dark times, especially from 2021 to 2023. After leaving Yamaha, the now 30-year-old Italian redeemed himself. ‘I was close to the top last year,’ Morbidelli looks back on the MotoGP season 2024 with Pramac. “For sure there were some things I lacked. I hope that the environment is one of those things.”
Although Morbidelli was the first rider from Rossi’s academy to make the leap into MotoGP, he has never been seen on a VR46 bike. Morbidelli won the 2017 Moto2 World Championship with Marc VDS and remained loyal to the team when it made the leap into MotoGP.
“I never had the chance to ride for Vale’s team. It was different for the other riders in the academy. They rode for Vale’s team at the beginning of their careers,” Morbidelli points out, referring to Francesco Bagnaia, Luca Marini and Marco Bezzecchi, who secured victories and world titles for VR46 in the smaller classes.
“For me, the time has come,” says Morbidelli. ‘It’s a great thing for me after the challenges I’ve faced, and not just in the last year. It’s been a few years. It’s great to now get together with people with whom I share great memories.’
