Alessio Salucci has confirmed that Franco Morbidelli will join VR46: the Italian-Brazilian rider returns “home” after growing up in Valentino Rossi’s Academy.
Tardozzi had already hinted at it, but now it’s official: the VR46 team has secured Franco Morbidelli’s services for 2025, a rider who has been part of Valentino Rossi’s Academy for years. The announcement came from Uccio, the team manager, who detailed Morbidelli’s contract after FP1.
Uccio Announces Franco Morbidelli to VR46: His Words
Alessio Salucci, known as “Uccio,” made the official announcement to Sandro Donato Grosso: “I’m very happy to announce Franco Morbidelli for next year with our team. Believe me, I’m excited: I’ve known Franco since he was a child, and he’s a very fast rider. We believe he’s a valuable rider, and although he struggled with Yamaha and had difficulties due to his injury this year, he’s now recovering”.
He then revealed details about the contract and bike: “Morbidelli will continue working with the GP24 next year on a 1+1 contract. I’m pleased that he won’t have to adapt to a new bike next year, and I believe the GP25 won’t be much different from the GP24. With the package he’ll have, I’m confident we can achieve significant results together with Franco”.
Uccio: “Aldeguer Was an Option, But We Wanted Franco”
“Initially, Aldeguer was a possibility. He’s an impressive rider, and we wanted him in the team in the past. However, when the opportunity to sign Franco arose, we focused on him. No disrespect to Fermín, but Morbidelli is a rider from our Academy, and we wanted to work with him”.
“Morbidelli will have the same team that currently supports Marco Bezzecchi, with Matteo Flamini leading it. It will be an all-Roman team… we’ll even hang a Totti jersey in the garage! It won’t be easy managing two strong characters like Diggia and Morbido… but they’re both very, very talented riders”.
Uccio concluded: “What’s Franco missing? He’s lacking mileage. Let’s not forget that he missed the tests and lost out on 3,000 km of track time. Nowadays, testing in MotoGP is crucial, and missing out is devastating, even though it wasn’t as critical a few years ago. He spent the first 4 or 5 races doing on-track testing, and I’m not saying this randomly: I’ve seen the data, and it’s true. He needs more confidence in time attacks, but in race pace, he’s already very fast today”.
Foto: Prima Pramac Racing MotoGP
