Franco Morbidelli openly admits he’s not performing like Fabio Quartararo – He’s still looking for a set-up so he can ride as well as he did in 2020
World Champion Fabio Quartararo is the clear spearhead for Yamaha in the 2022 MotoGP season. In the first six races, the Frenchman claimed one victory and two second places. With 89 World Championship points, Quartararo leads the World Championship standings. His teammate Franco Morbidelli has only 18 points. Andrea Dovizioso in the RNF team only has eight points.
Why is Morbidelli in particular so behind? After all, he won three races in 2020 on a 2019 Yamaha and was runner-up. And he did so as Quartararo’s teammate in the Petronas satellite team.
“I know how the bike should feel,” Morbidelli explains. “But we haven’t managed to do that yet. My feeling for the bike is not so different from the bike I rode in 2019 and 2020. It feels like the same bike. “
“The current model is a bit faster on the straights, but it’s not set up well yet. We have to believe in my feeling and keep working to find the right thing.” Seventh place in the rain race in Indonesia was his best result of the season.
Otherwise, Morbidelli was not to be found in the top 10. In Austin, he was even only 16th outside the world championship points. After his 15th place at Jerez, Yamaha team manager Lin Jarvis noted that “more was expected of Morbidelli. “
“I also expected more from myself,” admitted the Italian himself. “I don’t show the same performance as my teammate who wins races. I should perform like him. I have everything for it, the team and the bike. But right now I can’t.”
Given the lack of results, Morbidelli could be in danger of losing his place in the Yamaha factory team. But he has a contract that runs until the end of the 2023 season. Does that make him happy and take pressure off? “Yes,” is Morbidelli’s terse answer to that.
“Of course, there would come times when you get pressure from the manufacturer. It’s not the case with me because I still have one year left on my contract. As soon as I can do what I want with the bike, then I hope to perform. “
“It has to come from me because I am on the track doing everything. It comes from working and making changes to the bike that allow me to do what I want on the track. If I can’t do that, I can’t perform. “