This 2019 MotoGP season promises to be interesting with a new deal distributed among the leading men. A duo Marquez-Lorenzo, a Dovizioso sole master at Ducati or even Yamaha expected at the turn are the ingredients, spiced up by the outsider Suzuki. But surprise can also come from behind. Take the case of Franco Morbidely who showed a completely different face on the Yamaha of the new Petronas team than the one we knew on the Honda of Marc VDS Racing…
During the first tests of the off-season, the 2017 Moto2 World Champion asserted himself as a possible solid candidate for the top 5. And even a poison for the official Yamaha riders… “ Motorcycling requires smooth riding – and my style is smooth “, he declared after the first tests on the M1. “ This seems natural to me and I believe it will continue. I'll just do what the bike says. It's not as physically demanding as the Honda. Everything is going better ».
The teammate of fabio quartararo tempers, however: “ Seeing myself in the top positions is good, but it's not as meaningful because they're just tests. We still need to determine our strengths and weaknesses ". This question remains: what if Morbidely found himself cutting croupiers to a certain Valentino Rossi ? On speedweek, the Italian specifies: “ Nothing will change. We are friends off the track. And he's more than a friend. But when we run, we run and when we're on the track, we try to get the job done. We can still be friends after this. We spend a lot of time together because I've been training with him since I was 12 or 13 – even before we started a VR46 Academy. It created a friendship ».
Morbidely is 24 years old and the Doctor will reach 40 years old. “ We talked a lot about the strengths and weaknesses of the bike and everything going on at Yamaha at the moment, but we didn't go too deep into detail. I think he has something else on his mind: fighting for the championship and winning races every weekend. Maybe I can fight with him sometime, that would be great for me ».
The contract of Red within the Yamaha work team lasts until the end of 2020. Should we already consider Morbidely like his successor? “ I try to be the best driver I can be. If I win a factory bike at the end of these two years, we'll see what happens. But it will only depend on my performance if I deserve one » ends the person concerned.
