franco morbidelli Archives

Feb42024 by Blaž ŠtremfeljNo Comments

Morbidelli's performance in the first tests is still questionable

Pramac rider Franco Morbidelli may have to miss the first official MotoGP tests at Sepang after his medical condition has yet to be fully assessed following a nasty crash at the shakedown tests in Portimao. The Italian was preparing for the new season with some other MotoGP and WSBK championship racers in Portugal, and while riding the Pramac Ducati team, he had a nasty fall and lost consciousness for a moment. MotoGP's first official testing starts on February 6, and the Pramac team announced that it is not yet known if Morbidelli will be able to participate in them, as the health assessment has been postponed for a few extra days. "We want to allow more time for a more detailed understanding of Franco's condition, based on which we will decide if he can participate in the planned tests," they said.

Nov202023 by Tomaž StrgaršekNo Comments

Aleix Espargaro: Morbidelli crossed the line with his statement about my family

MotoGP News

Aleix Espargaro reacted harshly to the words of Franco Morbidelli. Let us remind you that after hitting Morbidelli on the helmet during training in Qatar, the Spaniard received a fine of €10 and six starting places in Sunday's race. The Italian described his behavior on the track as unacceptable, while also mentioning his children. "I don't know how he will be able to explain this to his children", were the words of Morbidelli, which especially angered the Spanish racer. "I am very angry because he mentioned my family and children in his statement against me and thus crossed the line," Espargaro was critical. The Spaniard also publicly apologized for his actions, despite the fact that he believes the punishment was too harsh. "Of course I made a mistake, my reaction was inappropriate, but the punishment is too severe. I didn't want to hit him

Nov182023 by Blaž ŠtremfeljNo Comments

Espargaro's slap to Morbidelli under the scrutiny of the stewards

MotoGP News

Aleix Espargaro slapped Franco Morbidelli during the second free practice in Qatar after touching him, and his behavior on the track has already been harshly condemned by many spectators. The Spaniard's behavior will also be discussed in the commissioners' office after qualifying, where the Aprilia racer could also receive a penalty. https://twitter.com/GrandSlamRacing/status/1725861613276696743

October22023 by Tomaž StrgaršekNo Comments

Morbidelli: We tried to take risks with a different strategy

MotoGP News

Franco Morbidelli finished Sunday's race at Motegi in seventeenth place after taking a risk and staying on track with dry tires longer than most of his rivals. All racers started the race on dry track tires despite the fact that it started to rain a little before the start. The rain slowly intensified and most decided to change bikes at the end of the first lap. Morbidelli did it only at the end of the third round. As he admitted after the race, it was a wrong decision, but given the poor starting position, he had to take a risk. "I decided to make a different move than most of the competitors. I stayed on the track with dry track tires even though it was raining. I had to take a risk and hope the rain would stop. Unfortunately that didn't happen. I'm not disappointed though, because I'm not a name

Sep182023 by Tomaž StrgaršekNo Comments

Official: Pramac confirmed the arrival of Morbidelli

MotoGP News

Franco Morbidelli will compete for the Pramac Ducati team next season. Today, the Italian team also officially confirmed that Johann Zarco, who is moving to LCR Honda, will be replaced by Franco Morbidelli. Morbidelli will thus share the garage with Jorge Martin, and both will have a factory motorcycle at their disposal. Team manager Paolo Campinoti said: "I am very happy that Franco Morbidelli will join us at the end of this season. We have a very good relationship, and he has proven many times that he is an exceptional racer who has the potential to become world champion . I am convinced that he will have the right conditions available in our team to achieve excellent results." https://twitter.com/pramacracing/status/1703771186130292866?t=3o3_K-IenvN2iJu4Lkbjfg&s=19

Avg22023 by Blaž ŠtremfeljNo Comments

Franco Morbidelli leaves Yamaha, Alex Rins takes his place

MotoGP News

Yamaha confirmed today that the Italian Franco Morbidelli is leaving their garage, and his place will be taken by the Spaniard Alex Rins. Morbidelli joined Yamaha in 2019 as a rider for the semi-factory team Petronas SRT. After three wins in the 2020 season and a world runner-up title, a knee injury followed, and on his return he was promoted to the Yamaha factory team, where he took over from Maverick Vinales. But the VR46 academy rider failed to return to his old form after the injury, so rumors of his departure from Yamaha grew louder, until today, when the team finally officially confirmed that they are parting ways with the Italian at the end of the season. "We would like to thank Franky for his hard work and dedication since the beginning of our cooperation, even when he was a semi-factory Yamaha team rider," said Li

Apr302023 by Blaž ŠtremfeljNo Comments

Morbidelli is grateful for Nakagami's quick reflexes

MotoGP News

Franco Morbidelli says Takaaki Nakagami deserves a gift for not hitting him while lying on the track after crashing in the first lap of the sprint race. The Italian collided with Alex Marquez in the second corner of the first lap, causing both to fall, while Marco Bezzecchi found himself on the ground after running over Morbidelli's Yamaha. The race was stopped with a red flag, but all the racers involved were able to take part in the restart, and Morbidelli, who only got out of the incident with an extended lap penalty, is happy that he was not hit by any of his rivals. "I'm glad that nothing worse happened, because I stayed in the middle of the track," said the Italian. "I'd like to thank Takaki for his quick reflexes as he managed to get around me. He deserves a nice present, which I'll prepare for him as well, with

Apr302023 by Blaž ŠtremfeljNo Comments

Quartararo: At Yamaha, we sleep more than we solve problems

MotoGP News

Fabio Quartararo didn't score points in the Jerez sprint race, and the 2021 MotoGP champion says Yamaha have completely fallen asleep in solving the bike's problems. The Yamaha rider only reached sixteenth place in qualifying after starting the race here last year from second. The Frenchman does not hide his disappointment with Yamaha in Jerez. "We lost almost all the good qualities of the motorcycle," he said. "Sometimes I was able to make up for the lost time with speed in the corner. For now we are still good at braking, but we will have to find solutions, and above all we will have to change our mentality, because I think we are sleeping more than doing something good." Quartararo, who finished the sprint in twelfth place, said that although he felt he was faster, he was powerless against the racers in front of him. "If dir

Apr292023 by Blaž ŠtremfeljNo Comments

Morbidelli punished for causing an accident in Jerez

MotoGP News

Franco Morbidelli will have to take an extended lap at Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix after the stewards penalized him for reckless driving that caused Alex Marquez to fall. In the first lap of the race, the Yamaha rider overtook Marquez on the inside, with whom he also scored and both ended up on the ground. Marco Bezzecchi then crashed into the sliding motorcycle and also fell, while the fourth victim of the fall was Augusto Fernandez. Yamaha appealed the penalty, but the judges rejected the appeal.

Apr142023 by Tomaž StrgaršekNo Comments

Jarvis on Yamaha's racing line-up next season: We want Franco to stay

MotoGP News

In an interview before the start of the race weekend in Austin, Lin Jarvis emphasized that Yamaha wanted to extend the collaboration with Franco Morbidelli, thus denying rumors that they were trying to place Toprak Razgatlıoğlu alongside Fabio Quartararo in the team. At the beginning of the week, the Turk tested a Yamaha MotoGP motorcycle in Jerez. He completed a total of 116 laps in two days at the Jerez circuit, and his fastest time was 1,4 seconds slower than Dani Pedrosa and seven tenths of a second faster than Yamaha test rider Cal Crutchlow. Franco Morbidelli, whose contract expires at the end of the season, is said to be under a lot of pressure due to poor results in the past two seasons. As the main candidate for his possible replacement, Razgatlıoğlu and Dirk are mentioned