For Franco Morbidelli, it’s a case of coming full circle: “Back to my roots”

Franco Morbidelli was a pioneer, as the Italian was one of the first riders to successfully make the leap from the paddock of the production-based World Championship to the GP circuit. After winning the 2013 Superstock 600 European Championship, the now 31-year-old moved up to Moto2 and, following his victory in the intermediate class in 2017, progressed to MotoGP.

It was officially confirmed on Monday: Morbidelli is returning to his former stomping ground and will ride a competitive V4R for the Aruba.it Ducati factory team.

“It’s something special! It’s like returning to my roots in motorbike racing. I started my career in this paddock on bigger bikes and I remember how it felt,” said Morbidelli during the Superbike meeting in Cremona. “After 13 or 14 years, it will be a very special feeling to be back here. A lot has changed, but I’m sure a lot has stayed the same too. It will be lovely to feel those emotions again.”

Morbidelli will come across numerous familiar faces. These include his team-mate Iker Lecuona, as well as BMW works rider Miguel Oliveira, Honda ace Jake Dixon and other riders from the GP paddock. The Italian is under no illusions about the standard of the Superbike World Championship.

“I know many of the riders competing in the Superbike World Championship very well. I’ve raced against some of them for many years and on numerous occasions,” confirmed the current MotoGP rider. “I know my team-mate for next year, Iker Lecuona, and he’s a very strong rider. I’ve also got to know him this year, as he’s taken part in a few MotoGP races. I know the field is really strong, so we’ll see what I’m capable of. However, I know the team is capable of winning. So I hope to be able to stay at that level.”

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Morbidelli continued: “But there are also new things to learn, and I hope I can get to grips with them as quickly as possible. The team will certainly go to great lengths to help me learn as quickly as possible what I don’t know about the bike and the championship. I don’t know what my biggest challenge will be, but there will be a few.”