Morbidelli on leaving MotoGP: “I’ve learnt to put my fears aside”
Franco Morbidelli’s nine-year MotoGP career has hung in the balance on several occasions. In 2027, he will move to the Superbike World Championship. The VR46 ace is set to contest his final home race as a premier-class rider.
This article is an automatically generated English version. The
VR46-Pilot Franky Morbidelli in Misano
Foto: Gold and Goose
VR46-Pilot Franky Morbidelli in Misano
© Gold and Goose
As is the case for the majority of Italian MotoGP riders, the race weekend at Misano is a special one for Franco Morbidelli every year: the VR46 rider grew up just 20 minutes from the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. “The fact that this will be my last MotoGP race here makes it even more special.”
He hadn’t given any thought to the fact that the 31-year-old’s contract with the VR46 team could not be renewed: “Over the years, I’ve learnt to put my fears aside.” This is a lesson he learnt from his debut season: “In 2018, I was afraid of having to leave MotoGP again. If good results don’t come in your first year, you start to get the jitters.”
Morbidelli: Letzter Auftritt für VR46 in Misano
Foto: instagram Franky Morbidelli
Morbidelli: Letzter Auftritt für VR46 in Misano
© instagram Franky Morbidelli
Superbike World Championship: No anticipation yet
In his first MotoGP season, the Italian-Brazilian finished 15th in the World Championship standings and was named Rookie of the Year. This is one of the reasons why the Rome-born rider does not regard the opening year of his nine-year career in the premier class as his most difficult in the series: “2022 was tough, but so is this year, probably.” Morbidelli is currently 16th in the World Championship standings, 155 points behind his team-mate Fabio Di Giannantonio.
When did he realise his MotoGP career was coming to an end? “When the team told me.” The rider with the number 21 doesn’t yet feel any anticipation about his role in next year’s World Superbike Championship: “Before that, I’m looking forward to the Misano weekend. Everything else will come step by step.”
The 2027 MotoGP grid will feature five new regular riders, with at least three of those dropped set to move to the World Superbike Championship. The ones to suffer as a result are Alvaro Bautista and Danilo Petrucci.
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