MotoGP, Argentina J3, Franco Morbidelli (Yamaha/4): what now?

Did Franco Morbidelli give us the straw shot and the swallow that does not make spring at Termas de Rio Hondo or did he reveal himself in Argentina like the Phoenix who was reborn from his ashes? Fast in the dry as well as in the wet and each time faster and more comfortable than his reference teammate at Yamaha Fabio Quartararo, we are now inevitably waiting for the Italian-Brazilian at the turn of Austin. This is what he tells us about a solid performance that we no longer expected.

Franco Morbidelli couldn't help but shine at Termas de Río Hondo. Because even if he narrowly missed the podium in MotoGP, the official Yamaha had its best weekend in a long time. Because the time when he could appear as a vice-world champion is long gone. We were then in 2020. An eternity in MotoGP. In 2022 he finished 19th overall with just 42 points in the World Championship and the start of the 2023 season was also rather timid with a 14th place in Portimão. During this time, both his employer and his teammate were more and more openly questioning the reasons for his presence in the box. Yamaha ...

But at Termas de Río Hondo, the tide suddenly turned for the Italian-Brazilian. During qualifying, he placed his Yamaha M1 in fourth position on the grid and finished both Saturday's dry Sprint and Sunday's wet race in the same place. And it's not an accident. He led the Sprint for a moment and held the Grand Prix podium until three laps from the finish.

Franco Morbidelli: “ we will have to do this also in the races to come« 

The pilot of 28 years thus commented on what we must call a turnaround in the situation as far as he is concerned: “ It was the best weekend in a long time, I'm happy with it » he admits. “ We were competitive in both the dry and the wet, and we will have to do that in the races to come as well. At the end of the race, I had big problems with grip on the rear wheel, that's why I couldn't repel Zarco's attack », says “Francky”.

While his teammate fabio quartararo still complains about the speed of the M1, Morbidely showed that there was some in this M1 version 2023: “ the package worked well this weekend. The progression of the bike on the straights also gave me an advantage in the wet. Small adjustments can already make a difference here, but on certain points we still lose time compared to Ducati, which is the reference ».

Then he finishes: “ I'm looking forward to the next race in Austin. There we will see if I can confirm the good feeling from here. But I keep my feet on the ground and I am aware that it is very easy to collapse and fall behind in this category ". He knows something about it.

Results of the MotoGP Argentine Prix at the Termas de Río Hondo circuit:

Classification credit: MotoGP.com