If it is true that a rider reaching MotoGP is by itself a “guarantee” that talent and potential exist, that does not always seem to be the case, but in the case of Franco Morbidelli, it definitely is. The Italian was Moto2 champion in 2017, moved up to the premier class of motorcycle racing, and two years later finished the season as vice-champion, but since then problems have been mounting.
As Motorcycle Sports reported a few days ago, 2023 was a season in which #21 showed a little more of his true value, where consistency was “the face” of the rider on the track even though the results were not what he certainly desired.
If for some years now, especially since 2022, the rider has been talking about the way to ride the M1, which required more aggression to get the best out of what the bike had to offer, he even admitted that riding like that was, after many months, more internalized but, for 2024 and after improving, Morbidelli will change teams and immediately go to one that had one of the riders, and bike, fighting for the title in 2023, Pramac.
With a Desmosedici GP24 at his disposal, doubts about the competitiveness of the bike are thus put to rest, just as there were with the Yamaha M1 he rode in recent years. Little is known about the 2024 version but, according to the comments of the riders – Pecco Bagnaia, Enea Bastianini, Jorge Martín – it should follow in the footsteps of its predecessors and be an improvement over the previous version.
Needing naturally a period to adapt, it remains to be seen what Morbidelli can do this year after this first “impact”, but with his talent, there is little doubt that the Italian can be one of the surprises for 2024, even though for now very little attention has been given to him, with the focus of the “new” Ducati riders being on Marc Márquez, who will be at Gresini Racing with a Desmosedici GP23.
It is worth remembering that Morbidelli was second in the 2020 championship, the year Joan Mir became champion, but since then he has been 19th, 17th, and now 13th, with Ducati appearing at a decisive stage in the rider’s career, who at 29 years old will have a golden opportunity to return to the brightest positions in MotoGP.
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