Метка: Franco Morbidelli

‘I lost my memory’ following pre-season MotoGP crash

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Pramac rider Franco Morbidelli has revealed that he lost his memory for two weeks following his horrific training crash before the start of the 2024 MotoGP season in January.

Morbidelli was preparing for the new campaign on a Ducati V4 Panigale road bike in Portimao when he crashed at Turn 7 on an outlap and hit the tarmac with his head, which left him reportedly unconscious at the track.

The Italian had to be taken to hospital, where the doctors discovered that a clot had developed in his head.

The 29-year-old had previously explained that he didn’t have any recollection of what had happened before and after the crash, which he described as “unclear” but “strange”.

But in a fresh interview with Italian newspaper La Repubblica, the three-time MotoGP race winner has revealed that he couldn’t even recognize his family members as he recovered from the injuries sustained to his head in hospital.

«The truth about this accident has never been told to you in its entirety,» he said.

«I lost my memory. For two weeks. I didn’t recognize people who were very close to me, important members of my family. It seemed impossible, and yet.

“I had all the fears in the world. All of them. Fortunately, we saw that memories and lucidity were returning, little by little. Every day, a detail, something more: my brain started to function again as before.”

Franco Morbidelli, Pramac Racing

Franco Morbidelli, Pramac Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Following advice from his doctors, Morbidelli was forced to miss the two pre-season tests of the year in Malaysia and Qatar.

Having switched from Yamaha to Ducati over the winter meant that he arrived at the season opener in Losail without having completed a single lap on the GP24 prototype.

Morbidelli thanked those around him for supporting him in the run-up to the new season, as he made his Ducati debut in Qatar with almost no preparation.

“Two weeks before this meeting, I was still a little ‘gaga’. But my whole team at Pramac and the sporting family that surrounds me have been great,» he assured.

“Getting back on the bike was a very tough challenge: in short, I hadn’t done it for three months, since the last race of 2023, in Valencia.

“For a month, I didn’t train. I was coming off a bad injury, which the only way to overcome is to stay still: you feel good, but the people around you know that’s not true.»

Morbidelli had faced three difficult seasons at Yamaha since he finished runner-up to Suzuki’s Joan Mir during the COVID-affected 2020 season.

Joining Pramac on factory Ducati machinery was his opportunity to start afresh, but losing any opportunity to test the bike meant he started the year on the back foot.

Franco Morbidelli, Pramac Racing

Franco Morbidelli, Pramac Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

It wasn’t until the fifth round of the season that Morbidelli broke inside the top 10 in a grand prix, and recent progress saw him qualify on the front row in the San Marino GP.

However, not everyone has been impressed by his speed on what is the fastest bike on the grid, with Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro questioning why he will remain on the grid with VR46 next year when his seat could be given to an up-and-coming rider from Moto2.

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The 29-year-old admitted that he had to pull himself up after his training incident threatened to derail his career in MotoGP.

«After two difficult years with the Yamaha, you take a blow like that and you tell yourself that it’s the final blow. But I gritted my teeth,” he said.

«Life can put us to the test at any moment. I can truly say that I have seen it all, but each time you learn that you have to be strong enough to handle adversity.

“As a man, there is no doubt: I am lucky to have my mother, my fiancee, my family by my side. I have discovered that I am very loved, I hope I deserve it.»

Additional reporting by Lena Buffa



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The other Ducati rider on a MotoGP resurgence

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Franco Morbidelli continued his MotoGP resurgence with a first podium finish in three-and-a-half years with third place in the San Marino Grand Prix sprint race and explained how “the race is very different” at the sharp end.

Morbidelli was given the golden ticket at the end of 2023. The Italian ended a turgid three-season spell in the factory Yamaha team where he felt the sharp decline of the Japanese company’s competitiveness for a seat on a Ducati GP24 next to MotoGP runner-up Jorge Martin at Pramac.

Morbidelli was the first world champion to emerge from Valentino Rossi’s VR46 Academy when he clinched the 2017 Moto2 crown. He then shocked the MotoGP establishment by winning three Grands Prix and finishing second in the standings in 2020 with a two-year-old M1.

Before the 29-year-old could open his Ducati chapter in earnest this year, a crash while training in Portimao resulted in a concussion and he missed the entire pre-season period in recuperation.

He needed time to adapt to the Desmosedici and did not score points until round five in France, but has since posted top-10 finishes in the last six rounds, the highlight being a fifth place in Germany, until he arrived at Misano this weekend for the San Marino GP and the site of his maiden triumph in the premier class four years previously.

Quiet confidence on Thursday translated into sharp qualification form Saturday morning and second on the grid. Morbidelli then unveiled the best performance of the season to trail Martin and get to within 0.3s of Francesco Bagnaia’s rear wheel in the sprint for his first top three since the 2021 Spanish GP.

Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing, Franco Morbidelli, Pramac Racing, Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing, Franco Morbidelli, Pramac Racing, Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

“I could stay with the top two guys since the beginning [of the sprint], and I could check them out very well,” the placid Ducati man said Saturday afternoon. “There are some areas where I’m missing, but we will try to improve for tomorrow.

“A sprint race is where the riders give all their potential: take out all the potential from the tyres, all the potential from the bike. So, for me it has a great value. To see that, especially this kind of sprint race where the top two guys are in their prime and giving their maximum, it was great to stay there.”

Morbidelli only registered three top-five race results in three years with the factory Yamaha team, although his first term in 2021 was wrecked by a knee injury. Up until his showing in Misano this weekend he has been consistently battling in the depths of the pack.

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“Being in the top positions, the race is very different, and the riding is very different,” he insists.

“When you’re in the group, it’s full of fighting and it’s full of rhythm-breaking moves. It feels much better up there!”

Although he is optimistic for the full grand prix distance at Misano, he is also realistic when it comes to showing some of that glittering 2020 form. “To be back there, I should get back winning,” he concluded. “So, we still have some margin here and there, we need to clear it up.”



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Morbidelli to join mentor Rossi’s VR46 MotoGP team in 2025

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VR46 has recruited Pramac rider Franco Morbidelli to partner Fabio di Giannantonio in MotoGP next year.

As has been widely expected, VR46 and Morbidelli have agreed to a one-year deal that will see the 2020 championship runner-up race for the team owned by his mentor and MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi.

The 29-year-old will continue with the GP24 bike that he currently rides at Pramac, with only his future team-mate di Giannantonio getting access to the factory GP25 after he landed a factory contract directly with Ducati earlier this month.

Morbidelli will take the place currently occupied by three-time grand prix winner Marco Bezzecchi, who will partner points leader Jorge Martin at Aprilia in 2025-26.

«What a beautiful story!» said Morbidelli. «I am very happy to announce that I have signed with the VR46 Racing Team for the 2025 season. I will definitely feel at home here, I really want to do well and repay, with good results, this trust both for myself and for all the crew.

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«I want to go back in the years and rejoice again with the whole group. A heartfelt thanks to the entire VR46 Riders Academy and to my management. Vale, Carlo, Uccio, Albi and Gianluca. Friends, but also key figures in the VR46 reality. I can’t wait to start this new adventure together.»

Franco Morbidelli, VR46 Racing Team, Alessio Salucci, Team Director VR46 Racing Team, Pablo Nieto, Team Manager VR46 Racing Team

Franco Morbidelli, VR46 Racing Team, Alessio Salucci, Team Director VR46 Racing Team, Pablo Nieto, Team Manager VR46 Racing Team

Photo by: Media VR46

Morbidelli has struggled for performance since leaving Yamaha to join Ducati’s stable at the start of this year, with a major training crash in January preventing him from taking part in pre-season testing and putting him on the back foot in 2024.

An improved form in recent races, including a fifth-place result in the German Grand Prix, has allowed him to recover to 12th place in the championship and equal the points tally of Bezzecchi, the rider he is replacing at VR46.

Bezzecchi himself has been comfortably outperformed by team-mate di Giannantonio in 2024, scoring 61 points compared to 104 for his countryman.

VR46 itself sits fifth in the standings, ahead of KTM’s factory team but two spots behind fellow Ducati satellite team Gresini.

Alessio Salucci, Team Director of VR46 said: «I am really happy to be able to confirm that Franco will race with the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team in 2025.

«Franco was the first rider to enter the VR46 Riders Academy, we have known him [for] years, we have seen him grow in Tavullia and today, with great satisfaction, we can say that he will join the crew starting from the next season. He is a rider of great talent, we can’t wait to welcome him and let him enjoy the family and home atmosphere that distinguishes us.

«He will continue to race with a Ducati, a Desmosedici GP24, and we are sure he will be able to fight with the group of the strongest guys. Once again, I can only thank Ducati for the support both in human and technical terms and all our partners, Pertamina Lubricants among all, who support this incredible project.»

The announcement all but confirms that Fermin Aldeguer will race for Gresini in 2025, joining Alex Marquez.



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“Not fair” that Miller and Morbidelli will stay in MotoGP next year

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Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro says it’s «not fair» that Jack Miller and Franco Morbidelli will remain on next year’s MotoGP grid despite their current form, when teams could hire young riders in their place.

Espargaro, a veteran of 243 starts, believes MotoGP teams should be giving opportunities to those coming through the ranks instead of signing underperforming riders in the premier class.

His comments follow speculation that Miller has secured a reprieve at Yamaha’s new satellite team Pramac next year after being dropped by KTM in the wake of his poor results with the Austrian marque this year.

Miller will effectively take the place of Morbidelli, who is expected to find a berth at his mentor Valentino Rossi’s VR46 team next year despite his own lacklustre results in 2024.

The Italian is going through a torrid campaign on what is the best bike on the grid after missing all of pre-season testing due to a training injury, but will continue in MotoGP next year thanks to his long association with seven-time MotoGP world champion Rossi.

Espargaro made a rare comment about fellow riders on the eve of this weekend’s Austrian GP, saying it’s sad that a lot of talented youngsters in Moto2 will miss out on a MotoGP seat next year because teams are opting for the likes of Miller and Morbidelli and not giving a newcomers a shot.

Franco Morbidelli, Pramac Racing

Franco Morbidelli, Pramac Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

“I’m not going to comment on that [Miller] because I would get into trouble,” he said initially, before adding: “If I tell you what I think about that and someone else who will end up in VR46, it will be wrong.

“I get on well with Jack, we are neighbours and he has just become a father. I know he likes motorbikes much more than me. I’m very happy that he can still be here. But there’s a much worse case.

“The case of Morbidelli is worse than that of Miller. There is nothing wrong with Morbidelli staying in MotoGP, but when you have a winning bike for so many years in a row, and your team-mates [Fabio Quartararo] beat you every time, in every race and every time trial, it doesn’t seem fair to me that you don’t give the opportunity to the young riders.

“When you have had many winning bikes and you don’t show anything, and they keep giving you options, then you see an Alonso Lopez [in Moto2] who is biting his lips to go up.”

Espargaro will call time on his glittering career as a racer at the end of this season, having already propelled Aprilia from a distant backmarker to a multiple race-winning force in MotoGP.

He will take up the role of test rider at Honda next year, freeing up a seat within the Aprilia fold as a result and leading to a domino effect elsewhere.

Aleix Espargaro, Aprilia Racing Team

Aleix Espargaro, Aprilia Racing Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Espargaro said one of the reasons he decided to quit MotoGP was to open up space for young riders who are still in Moto2 and have a lot of potential to succeed at the top level in the coming years.

“That’s why I’ve decided to take a step aside next year, because I have the feeling that I’m not at 1000% like these guys can be,” he said. “I don’t have that desire to race anymore, and it doesn’t seem fair to me to stay here.”

One team that has opted for youth over experience is Aprilia’s own satellite squad Trackhouse, which has signed Moto2 frontrunner Ai Ogura to partner incumbent Raul Fernandez.

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Espargaro hailed team boss Davide Brivio for showing faith in Ogura, who currently sits second in the standings behind team-mate Sergio Garcia, instead of looking elsewhere on the current grid.

“For a team manager like Brivio to take a gamble with someone like Ogura is ‘chapeau’ [well done],” he said.

“I think Ogura is very good; he is aggressive, he works on his own. I think it’s a great signing, it’s the best thing Trackhouse could do.”



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Has Morbidelli found his MotoGP mojo again after years of struggles at Yamaha?

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Pramac rider Franco Morbidelli showed glimpses of his former self as he battled team-mate Jorge Martin and reigning champion Francesco Bagnaia for a podium in last weekend’s German GP.

While his strategy to play aggressively early on ultimately dropped him to fifth at the finish, there were only positives to take for a rider who is rebuilding his career after going from fighting for the championship in 2020 to becoming an occasional top-10 scorer in MotoGP.

In fact, Morbidelli’s results over the last few years with Yamaha were so underwhelming that many questioned how he managed to land a top seat with Pramac on a factory-spec Ducati GP24.

The criticism wasn’t completely invalid when you look at how easily he was overshadowed by team-mate and 2021 champion Fabio Quartararo during their time together at the factory team.

Even after showcasing a major improvement in his speed last year on an underpowered Yamaha M1, he still finished three places and 70 points behind Quartaro in the standings — and without a single podium to his name. It was perhaps no surprise that the Japanese marque made a decision not to renew his contract and poached Alex Rins from LCR Honda instead.

While it was unfortunate that Morbidelli could never turn around his performances at Yamaha, despite the Japanese manufacturer publicly supporting him for the longest of times, the Italian has now been given a new lease of life at Pramac and he must take full advantage of it. If the Sachsenring race was any indicator, one can see him delivering on his promise again after years in the doldrums.

«A version of me that we haven’t seen in a while. I’m glad it came back out,» Morbidelli said of his showing on Sunday. «I’ve been there for a few races now, seeing the podium and getting closer — but this one a little bit more. At one point I thought I had to win! So, good. It was a positive weekend that everyone needed.»

Franco Morbidelli, Pramac Racing

Franco Morbidelli, Pramac Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

It was clear that Morbidelli was going to face a challenging first half of the year when a training accident at Portimao prevented him from riding the GP24 during the official pre-season testing. Adapting from the M1 he has raced since his debut in 2018 to the Desmosedici was always going to be a tough task, but he then had to complete the transition during race weekends.

But after surviving the madness that was the Spanish GP sprint to take his first points of the year, there have been clear signs of progress. Since then, Morbidelli has been able to qualify and finish inside the top 10 on a regular basis — and a performance like his in the German GP was a long time coming.

«It’s three races that I [feel I] could reach the podium — since Barcelona,» he said. «It’s not getting there but yet I’ll keep working. I can do it. I was out of the battle for top five in Assen. That was a difficult track for us but since Barcelona [I feel] I can do it. «If I can’t do it [in the second half then] I’m missing something but I’ll work, I’ll chase.»

Morbidelli’s fifth place at the Sachsenring was his best result since he took fourth at the Argentine GP with Yamaha more than 12 months ago — an outlier of a result given it was a wet race and he failed to crack the top six in any other race in 2023. But, if his recent form is to go by, he is likely to build on that result in the second half of the season and return to the podium for the first time since the 2021 Spanish GP, when he was still riding for the now-defunct Petronas SRT team.

«It feels great, it feels amazing, being there in such an attack position,» he said. «I’ve been there last years, just once. But when I have been there in the past two years it was always in defensive mode while today was in attack mode. It’s much nicer, much more my style.»

Morbidelli’s 2020 campaign on what was then a year-old Yamaha was no fluke and there is genuine reason to believe that he can deliver the results, now that he has a competitive bike and a healthy environment around him.

The Italian has already leapfrogged VR46 rider Marco Bezzecchi in the championship for 11th and is now on the cusp of the top 10. With rumours linking him with a move to the squad run by his mentor Valentino Rossi to replace Aprilia-bound Bezzecchi, now is the time for the 29-year-old to up his game and challenge the other three riders equipped with the GP24.

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Pramac’s Morbidelli still «missing freedom» on Ducati MotoGP bike

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The three-time MotoGP race winner endured a difficult Portuguese Grand Prix weekend despite making a step forward with his understanding of the GP24.

Qualifying in 17th, Morbidelli finished 18th in the grand prix after crashing on the opening lap in an incident that left Honda’s Joan Mir unhappy.

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Morbidelli’s transition from Yamaha to Ducati for 2024 has been hugely affected by the concussion he suffered in a training crash that forced him to miss all of pre-season testing.

As such, Morbidelli says he isn’t able to ride the GP24 by instinct at the moment and is thinking too much about the process.

«What I’m missing the most now on the bike is knowledge and freedom of doing things by reflex,» he said.

«I need to think too much about engaging the devices, on the gear lever, which is different to what I’m used to.

«I’m thinking about things right now and not focusing on riding and maximising the riding. But that’s what happens when you don’t have kilometres. We are lacking that.»

Franco Morbidelli, Pramac Racing

Franco Morbidelli, Pramac Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Morbidelli declined to offer comparisons between the Yamaha and the Ducati bikes out of respect but did state that he was «impressed» by the fact his pace in the Portuguese GP was good enough for the top eight despite his limitations.

«I don’t want to make comparisons because it wouldn’t be fair,» he said when asked to compare the M1 and the GP24. «I like to remain gentlemanly on this.

«What I can say is that I feel good with this bike, very good. If you check out the rhythm also on the race, riding without freedom and thinking about many things, so riding with margin, the rhythm was still good, was still good enough to be sixth, seventh.

«That was the most impressive, I was impressed by that. I feel very good with the package and I feel a lot of potential with the package.

«It’s a matter of getting used as much as possible to being on the bike and in the shortest time possible to take out the maximum potential of the bike, which I’m still not doing.»

Watch: MotoGP: Jorge Martin masters Portimao | 2024 #PortugueseGP



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Mir slams Morbidelli for ‘not clever’ opening lap clash in Portugal MotoGP

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Although Pramac Ducati rider Morbidelli started Sunday’s Portimao three positions ahead of Mir in 17th, a poor getaway dropped him into the clutches of his Honda rival through the opening sequence of corners.

As they battled for position, Morbidelli made contact with Mir in an incident not captured on TV, sending the Spaniard wide and dropping him to 21st position.

Although the factory Honda rider was able to recover to 12th place, aided by three leading riders (Francesco Bagnaia, Marc Marquez and Maverick Vinales) crashing in the last three laps, he felt Morbidelli was simply too aggressive given the position he was running in.

“On the first lap I was there overtaking but quite on the position,” said the 2020 champion. “In that position you have to stay a bit calm in the first laps.

“This is the reality because it’s a big race and there are a lot of bikes in front of you and you have to be a bit clever, no? Morbidelli wasn’t.

“He just came to me. He hit me with a lot of speed. I went out of the track at Turn 8 and my race was a little bit compromised for this problem.”

Mir revealed that his Honda was heavily damaged from contact with Morbidelli, which affected both his braking as well as his stability through the corners.

“The rear part of the bike, the wing tail and all these things were gone,” he said.

Joan Mir, Repsol Honda Team

Joan Mir, Repsol Honda Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

“I didn’t have any one of them. Also the front wing was there but was shaking and moving a lot. Also the exhaust [was damaged].

“I was struggling without the wings, to stop the bike in Turn 1 was — wah! It was a challenge, also in Turn 5. It’s a shame that in the back nobody is filming, because it was far.

“I made a good weekend. I’m in good form. So let’s move to another one and hope that in the next one that riders on the back think a bit more on the first laps. That will also be safer for everyone.”

Morbidelli fell to the ground following the incident with Mir, but was able to remount on the bike and gain some crucial mileage on the Ducati to take 18th at the flag.

Mir feels Morbidelli didn’t deserve a sanction for the accident, as the crash was enough of a penalty for the Italian.

“Well, he crashed, no? So he was penalised,” said the 26-year-old.

“If not, yes. But because he crashed. He didn’t want to crash, he doesn’t want to crash. So this is the penalty that he got.”

Morbidelli, meanwhile, defended his riding when Mir’s views were put to him, downplaying his role in their collision.

Franco Morbidelli, Pramac Racing

Franco Morbidelli, Pramac Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

“It’s part of racing when you are in the group,” said the Italian.

“I just went on the inside and we touched and then from then on I just went wide.”

Former Yamaha rider Morbidelli missed both pre-season tests in Malaysia and Qatar following a serious crash on a Ducati roadbike at Portimao in January, which severely compromised his preparations for his first campaign with the marque.

Still gaining crucial miles on his GP24, Morbidelli took positives from the race even as he ended up last in the order.

“We keep our learning curve with this bike and I can go home pretty satisfied,” the 29-year-old said.

“For sure results-wise not yet because in the race I made a mistake. I made a mistake in the start, I had a bad start and then I was caught up in a group and I went wide and I crashed.

“After that the race result-wise was pretty much gone, but actually the rhythm was very acceptable and was very decent.

“So that’s encouraging because still I need to learn everything and I need to get in tune with everything but already some things we are realising that are coming. So that’s positive. I just need to keep going in and I need to speed it up.”

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