Good luck and bad luck seem to be the lot of Franco Morbidelli in this intermediate period of the world championship MotoGP, because if the Italian rider managed to grab an ultra-competitive Ducati Desmosedici GP24 after a very disappointing stint with Yamaha, he was injured during private training riding a Ducati Panigale V4S in Portimão at the end of January .
Far from having recovered with an ordinary fracture, as disabling as it was, number 21 remained unconscious on the track before being rescued by the brothers Marquez then hospitalized for two days. There, a blood clot was discovered, which forced Franco Morbidelli to have to give up all the pre-season tests, both in Sepang and Losail, in order to hope to be able to line up for the first Grand Prix of the season, next week in Qatar.
The subject was obviously discussed after the presentation of its Desmosedici GP24 in Bahrain on Wednesday, when he answered questions from journalists specializing in video conference.
As usual, we report his words here without the slightest formatting.
It's good to see you in good shape, but what will be the approach for next week?
“It will be important to have the right approach, and the right approach is not to look too much at what the best are doing and how much the gap there might be, because I know that I have ground to catch up, so catching him in a race is definitely a tricky thing. But that's what we're going to try to do, and that's what we're going to have to do, and that's what we're going to try to do in the best way. »
It's rare to see injured riders come onto the track, work on the bike remotely without riding: what did you learn during these few days in Qatar? What did you see ? What are your expectations after what you saw in Qatar?
“Well, I learned that it's better to ride the bike than to stand there and watch other people ride. But like I said, as an injured player, this is one of the best chances I've had. I mean, I was injured anyway, but I was lucky enough to stay trackside, stay with the team, talk with my team and get that time that I missed on the track. But anyway, I tried to recover by already being there and talking with my team and staying there and sharing energy with them. So I'm injured, I've been injured, and I don't want to say it's one of the best ways to be injured, but it's been a pretty good situation being injured. »
Have you checked the data from other Ducati riders or does it not make sense?
" Yes of course. I mean I already tried in Valencia, I checked the data of the other drivers, but also in Qatar and I also checked some data from Sepang.
This will be a key point to understand and try to be as quick as possible, you know. I plan to be very fast and I'm facing some adversity at the moment. But I'm doing whatever it takes to get back and come back as quickly as possible. So I check the data of other Ducati riders, especially those who ride very fast. But I have to say that all Ducati riders ride very fast. »
And looking at this data, do you know who rides with your style or not?
" It depends. The very fast style is the one that Pecco and Jorge have today. But the style I won with is a little different and can still be effective. And I think Diggia is able to express that speed and fluidity in the corners. But as I said, the style to win at the moment is that of Pecco and Jorge. »
This might be a tough question because you don't really know, but it's a terrible season to have a preseason like this because of the new format: you'll only have one training and the competition will begin immediately. Do you think you can make up for that experience deficit at some point in the season, because I think some would say it's almost impossible to do so in the current MotoGP environment? Are you going to have to sacrifice a weekend or two to just do tests?
“Well, assuming that nothing is impossible, I make no plans, no clear expectations about when I'm going to catch up completely or when I'm going to catch up enough to fight for the positions I want to fight. So I'm not planning any of that, I'm just planning the next step. »
How is the knee? Did this injury affect the knee?
" No no no. The knee is fine. Thank you. The knee is fine. It's a different injury and she's fine too. I think it's an injury that you have to respect, and you have to take your time and respect what the doctors say, because it's an injury that you have to respect. But actually, I mean, it's an injury that almost doesn't feel like an injury, because physically I'm pretty good. OK, we respect this injury also at the training level and we don't train as much as when I'm in great shape, but I think we are doing the best we can about it with the doctors, with Carlo we are doing the best possible work to respect this injury. »
