Franco Morbidelli is happy to be able to “talk about the same things” with Bagnaia, Bezzecchi, Marini in the future – Jorge Martin is looking forward to his new teammate
The latest piece of the puzzle so far in the MotoGP transfer carousel for the 2024 season, Franco Morbidelli’s move from the factory Yamaha team to the Pramac Ducati team was announced this week. Starting with the Indian Grand Prix this weekend, Morbidelli has eight races left in the Yamaha factory team. Then he can close what has been a less than successful chapter for him and look forward to his future on a Ducati.
The contract Morbidelli signed directly with Ducati to ride in the factory-backed Pramac team is for one year until the end of 2024, and as the still-Yamaha rider notes in conversation with MotoGP.com, there was “some work going on in the background” to make the switch to Pramac-Ducati happen.
Now that it’s all wrapped up, Morbidelli says: “After two difficult years, this is a great opportunity for me. It will be a great feeling to jump on the best bike in the field and prove what I’m capable of.”
Morbidelli’s team switch from Yamaha to Pramac also means that all four riders coming out of the VR46 academy will be on a Ducati for the 2024 MotoGP season. Francesco Bagnaia will remain in the factory team, Marco Bezzecchi and Luca Maini will stay in the VR46 team. Morbidelli, for his part, will switch to a Ducati in the winter.
“I was the only one in the group with a Yamaha. So in future we will all have the same package at our disposal,” says Morbidelli. There are minor differences, to be sure. Bezzecchi and Marini will ride a GP23 in the VR46 team in the 2024 season, whereas Bagnaia in the factory team and Morbidelli in the Pramac team will have the current GP24. “But at least we will all be able to talk about the same thing,” Morbidelli enthused.
With regards to Bagnaia, Bezzecchi and Marini, Morbidelli openly admits in Thursday’s press conference: “When I’ve listened to what they’ve given as feedback [about the Ducati] lately, it’s been difficult for me in parts, frustrating in parts, because it just sounded very different to the feeling I have myself [on the Yamaha].”
Starting with the Valencia test on November 28, Morbidelli has his sights set on speeding up his acclimatisation process to the Ducati after a total of five years on a Yamaha (two and a half in the Petronas team and two and a half in the factory team). “I will certainly ask them a lot of questions,” he says of his three colleagues from the VR46 academy. The anticipation exists on both sides.
“I’m very happy for ‘Franky’,” Bagnaia says of Morbidelli, explaining, “I think riding a Ducati is something he deserves after certainly not finding the best situation in his last years with Yamaha. But the potential of ‘Franky’ is known to everyone. So I’m happy that next year he’ll be riding the same bike [as me] and we can talk about the same things.”
And Bezzecchi already expects that the joint training of the VR46 Academy riders in 2024 “will be even more competitive than it is at the moment. I no ‘Franky’ as a tough fighter, but it will also be very fun. I’m looking forward to that. “
In the Pramac team, Morbidelli will ride in the new season in place of Johann Zarco, who is moving to LCR Honda. Morbidelli will thus be Jorge Martin’s new teammate. And Martin is already looking forward to the new team duel with high expectations.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do. Of course it is important that I have a competitive rider next to me. That’s the way it is this year and we are fighting for the world championship title in the team classification. Hopefully Franco can settle in quickly so that we can also perform strongly next year,” said Martin.
