At the end of a Moto2 season where he experienced the joys of the world crown, Franco Morbidelli did not expect to experience such an ordeal in this first year in MotoGP. On a Honda Marc VDS Racing, he was expected to be the successor to the brilliant Johann zarco who had made a very good first impression at the elite with a Yamaha Tech3. Protected from Valentino Rossi, he had the arguments to assert himself. But on the eve of the summer break which will be pronounced at the Sachsenring, Morbidelli is closer to spleen than euphoria.
It must be said that a lot of things fell on his head. First a Honda that was complicated to master, then a team that imploded, and then, now, the agonies of injury after a fall. Since FP3 in Assen, the teammate of a Lüthi sportingly not much better off, suffered a fracture of the third metacarpus of his left hand. A handicap which deprived him of the Dutch Grand Prix and which logically threatens that of Germany, to be followed in two weeks now: “ racing at Assen would have been more than complicated. I had pain everywhere and I couldn't move my hand. » comments the rider on motogp.com.
Nevertheless, he puts up a good face against bad luck: “ physically I feel good, replies the Italian. This broken hand is a little disturbing but for the rest I am 100%. We take it day by day. I wear it like a sort of splint and I have to wait to see what the doctors will tell me at the next visit. It takes at least a week to see how everything evolves, how I recover. Depending on that we will decide for the German Grand Prix. I'm not sure I'm there ».
This injury comes at a time when Morbidely falls a lot. In Barcelona alone, he found himself with his four irons in the air four times. And this despite having the reputation of a driver who rarely crashes. A bad series which is starting to undermine him: “ when you play with the limits, you sometimes fall. This is what is happening with me right now. When a driver crashes like this, it's his fault. Certainly, my bike doesn't have the same level of performance as the other Hondas, but when a rider goes down so many times, I wouldn't say it's the bike's fault ».
An admission which reveals his doubts and these continue even when we talk to him about his prospects for the next season. However, the rumor assures him a place of choice in an interesting project made up of a Yamaha financed by Petronas. But the speech from the spearhead of the VR46 Academy is quite different: “ unfortunately I don't have any good news. I've heard so many things lately, but in reality there's nothing concrete, I haven't signed anything. The situation is not yet clear ».
