It was by leaving Rome and going to Tavullia that Franco Morbidelli, like the other pilots of the VR46 Academy, learned the "Valentino method" as defined by Alberto "Albi" Tebaldi, CEO of VR46 and close friend of the World Champion. World. It's a sort of distillation of Rossi's 20 years of racing experience.
To Marca.com, Jaime Martin asked Franco if he ever saw himself as the successor to Valentino. “ All Italian drivers have the ambition to replace Vale when he retires, because sooner or later he will retire, unfortunately, Morbidelli replied. Therefore, we are all the heirs of Vale in the sense that we will have to do everything to replace him.
All Italians are the heirs of Rossi, who, however, will not be replaced.”
It's been a long time since Rossi's tenth title was talked about. Do you think he will succeed?
“If Vale runs well, if the Yamaha works well, if he has everything he needs, yes because even if he is older, he has the necessary enthusiasm, the talent and it seems that his motivation does not has never decreased, so why not? »
You always say that you learned everything from Rossi. But did you dare to give him advice at any point?
" No. Unless it's a video game or something similar, music or something else, I give some advice, but for motorcycling I avoid. »
You who see how Rossi trains, what is special about his preparation?
“First of all, there is the Ranch, which is a circuit where you can train once a week, or more. It's a very complicated circuit, dirt track is a very difficult discipline, where the difference is marked by talent.
And who will be your heir in Moto2: Alex Marquez, Joan Mir, Pecco Bagnaia...?
“Moto2 next year will be very difficult, there are many riders who will be strong, we should not forget Oliveira, he could also be my heir, but the truth is I don't know.
You are very calm. In your tests with MotoGP, was there anything that made you nervous?
“No, MotoGP is a fantastic bike, it is very powerful, but you can get comfort thanks to the electronics, the behavior of the tires, the chassis. »
Did you sign with Marc VDS for one or two years? “ Well, one, but in this case the contract is not the problem, the problem is to go hard, the important thing for me is to be fast, at least, like Johann (Zarco), which will be difficult because he was very strong, and then we'll see, whoever deserves an official bike will get it. »
It is more than likely that Rossi will have his own team in MotoGP?
“It would be fantastic, it would be something valuable, no doubt, but I still see it as a very distant hypothesis, it will take many years, it will take a long time before this team is created. »
Photo: Motogp.com / Dorna
Source: Marca.com
