On Saturday in Sepang, during the penultimate GP of the season, Tom Lüthi was still making life difficult for Franco, who was not yet World Champion. But the Swiss fell heavily and suffered a fracture in his left foot. He had to forfeit. Morbidelli, ready to fight hard to the end to capture the title... was crowned at breakfast on Sunday morning.
A little distraught, he pulled back to fully enjoy his victory, greeted on the track by Valentino Rossi. “ It was great that he came to congratulate me, but I was a little worried because it was short before his own race and he had to prepare well. »
“Nevertheless, I was of course happy because he was always by my side and went through all the hardships with me. I think that's why it was a moment of relief for both of us. »
“Vale has always been a teacher to me. He's like an uncle. The term brother would not be appropriate because I have much more respect for him than for a brother. »
“I have known him since I was twelve years old and since then I have learned a lot from him as a professional driver. For the race, I want to continue, because he can still teach me a lot.”
And what does Rossi say about Morbidelli’s triumph? “ We are very proud, because Franco was the first driver we supported after Marco Simoncelli. He deserves this triumph because he rode at a fantastic level this year. »
Franco is “ very proud of this title and not only happy for me, but also for Italy. Since 2009 our country has not been allowed to celebrate one, and I am very happy to have been able to bring it back to Italy. »
Next season at Marc VDS on Honda in MotoGP, Morbidelli believes that “Now we have to learn a lot of new things, because we are starting from scratch again, and I am even more motivated to move forward and give everything to see how far I can go. »
Photos © Motogp.com, Videopass / Dorna
