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Franco Morbidelli

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Franco Morbidelli
Morbidelli at the 2023 Italian Grand Prix
NationalityItalian
Born (1994-12-04) 4 December 1994 (age 30)
Rome, Italy
Current teamPertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team
Bike number21
Motorcycle racing career statistics
MotoGP World Championship
Active years2018–
ManufacturersHonda (2018)
Yamaha
(2019–2023)
Ducati (2024–)
Championships0
2024 championship position9th (173 pts)
Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points
122 3 6 2 1 687
Moto2 World Championship
Active years2013–2017
ManufacturersSuter (2013)
Kalex (2014–2017)
Championships1 (2017)
2017 championship position1st (308 pts)
Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points
71 8 21 6 13 686

Franco Morbidelli (born 4 December 1994) is an Italian Grand Prix motorcycle racer in MotoGP class, riding for Prima Pramac Racing team.[1] He became champion in the 2013 European Superstock 600 Championship, and the 2017 Moto2 World Championship.[2]

Early life

Morbidelli was born in Rome to a Brazilian mother, Cristina, and an Italian father, Livio Morbidelli. The elder Morbidelli himself was a former motorcycle racer, finishing runner-up in the 80 cc and 125 cc classes of the Italian national championships. Livio Morbidelli recognized his son's potential from a young age but did not have the resources to support a racing career. Through an old racing companion Graziano Rossi, father of 9-time world champion Valentino Rossi, Livio Morbidelli learned of the motorcycle training hotbed in Tavullia. The family sold their home in Rome and moved to Tavullia to support Franco's race career ambitions. This training with Rossi became the precursor to what is now known as the VR46 Academy for racers, of which Morbidelli later became the first official member.[3]

Despite the common misconception, he is not related to Giancarlo Morbidelli, manufacturer of the Morbidelli Grand Prix racing bikes, or his son, former Italian F1 driver Gianni Morbidelli.[4] In January 2013, Morbidelli's father committed suicide.[3]

Career

Early career

As a teen, Morbidelli was poised to enter the Spanish CEV 125cc championship, one of the main feeder series for a Grand Prix motorcycle career. However a lack of funding prevented him from entering, and he instead found a ride in the European Superstock 600 championship for 2011. Staying in the series for 2012, and 2013, Morbidelli got seat at Team Italia aboard a Kawasaki, for a third season in the class in 2013, ultimately winning the championship with two wins and three 2nd places.[3]

Moto2 World Championship

Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 (2013)

As a result of his success in the Superstock championship, Morbidelli earned a place as a wild-card entry rider for Gresini in three rounds of the Moto2 championship.[3] He did not score any points in the three races, finishing 20th in Misano, 18th in Japan, and 17th in Valencia.

Italtrans Racing Team (2014–2015)

Morbidelli joined the Moto2 class full-time in 2014 with the Italtrans Racing Team, and outscored his more experienced teammate and former 125cc Champion Julián Simón, finishing with 75 points compared to Simón's 56.

He stayed with the team in 2015, and got his first podium, a 3rd place finish, at the Indianapolis Grand Prix. He ended the season 10th in the standings, with 90 points.

EG 0,0 Marc VDS (2016–2017)

In 2016, he joined the Marc VDS Racing Team, partnering Álex Márquez. After a slow start, he finished the season strongly with five consecutive podium finishes, eight podiums in total (four 2nd places, and four 3rd places), and finished 4th in the standings, with 213 points.

For 2017, he was a favourite for the title and took his first win at the opening race at Qatar accordingly. He won a total of eight races during the season, with another additional four podium finishes, as he won the 2017 Moto2 World Championship with Marc VDS in the Malaysian GP, after his closest championship contender Thomas Lüthi was declared unfit for the Malaysian race, following a crash at qualifying.[5]

MotoGP World Championship

EG 0,0 Marc VDS (2018)

Morbidelli moved up the MotoGP class in 2018, still with the Marc VDS team on a Honda bike, the 2017-spec Honda RC213V. He was partnered by his 2017 Moto2 title rival Thomas Lüthi, who failed to score a single point that season, on the same machinery. Morbidelli finished the season in 15th place with 50 points, four points ahead of Hafizh Syahrin on the Tech3 Yamaha, thus winning rookie of the year.

Petronas Yamaha SRT (2019–2021)

Morbidelli in 2019

For 2019, as Marc VDS left the premier class, Morbidelli signed with the newly formed Petronas SRT team on a two-year deal to ride an "A-spec" satellite Yamaha alongside rookie Fabio Quartararo.[6] With 115 points, he finished 10th in the riders' championship, finishing in the top ten point scoring places regularly.

Just before the delayed start to the 2020 season, Petronas SRT announced that Morbidelli had been signed on a further two-year deal, meaning he would stay with the team.[7] In this season, Morbidelli was riding a 2019-spec Yamaha, while his team-mate Fabio Quartararo, rode a factory-spec Yamaha. In August 2020, at the Austrian Grand Prix, Morbidelli's motorcycle collided with that of Johann Zarco while the two fought through turn 2. Despite the dramatic crash which resulted in a red flag, Morbidelli was unharmed.[8] He achieved his first MotoGP podium at the Czech round[9] and his first victory just three races later, at his home race in Rimini.[10] He took his second career win at the Teruel Grand Prix, setting a new track race lap record on the way, and solidifying himself as a contender for the riders' championship.[11] At the following European Grand Prix, Morbidelli struggled in qualifying and then in the race, battling rising tire pressures, ultimately limping home in 11th, while title rival Joan Mir took his first career win, all but extinguishing Morbidelli's title hopes.[12] At the second Valencia round the following week, Morbidelli bounced back to take his second career pole position and converted it to his third career win, staving off a last lap attack from Jack Miller. Mir finished in 7th place, sufficient to clinch the championship ahead of Morbidelli.[13] At the final round in Portugal, Morbidelli finished the season with his fifth podium of the season, to end the championship as runner-up to Mir by 13 points.

For 2021, Morbidelli's teammate was the VR46 Academy owner Valentino Rossi. During the first half season, Morbidelli rode the 2020 "A-spec" Yamaha and took his first podium at Jerez, finishing third. After the German Grand Prix, Morbidelli injured his knee in a training accident and was unable to race at Assen when he was substituted by Yamaha World Superbike rider Garrett Gerloff, and the Styrian event in Austria by Yamaha factory tester Cal Crutchlow.[14][15] Morbidelli's recovery was slow and he was replaced by Jake Dixon who rode Morbidelli's machine for the British Grand Prix race in August, and again at Aragón in September.[16][17]

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP (2021–2023)

During Morbidelli's rehabilitation, it was announced that he would move up to the factory Yamaha Motor Racing team for the rest of 2021 (starting from Misano), and also through 2022, officially replacing the vacated seat left by Maverick Viñales who was abruptly sacked by the team in August 2021.[18] Morbidelli’s seat at the satellite Yamaha team was taken over by Andrea Dovizioso, who returned to the sport after a racing break and some test riding with Aprilia. After Morbidelli was deemed healthy enough to race by doctors, he returned to the championship on an unfamiliar bike, after missing five race weekends. This showed in his results, finishing in the points just twice in the season's last five races, ending the year 17th in the standings, with 47 points.

For the 2022 MotoGP World Championship, Morbidelli was partnered by old teammate, the reigning World Champion Fabio Quartararo at the Yamaha Motor Racing team.[19]

Prima Pramac Racing (2024)

Morbidelli officially joined Pramac Ducati starting the 2024 season. He will accompany Jorge Martín at this team who uses the latest Ducati motorbike. Meanwhile, his position at Monster Energy Yamaha is known to have been replaced by Álex Rins. The certainty of Morbidelli's move to Pramac Ducati was also confirmed after Marco Bezzecchi's refusal to move to Pramac.[20]

Career statistics

FIM European Superstock 600 Championship

By season

Season Class Motorcycle Team Race Win Podium Pole FLap Pts Plcd
2011 European
Superstock
600 		Yamaha
YZF-R6 		4 0 0 0 0 32 17th
2012 European
Superstock
600 		Yamaha
YZF-R6 		Bike Service Racing Team 8 0 1 1 0 74 6th
RCGM Team
2013 European
Superstock
600 		Kawasaki
Ninja ZX-6R 		San Carlo Team Italia 10 2 5 2 1 154 1st
Total 22 2 6 3 1 260

By class

Class Seasons 1st GP 1st Pod 1st Win Race Win Podiums Pole FLap Pts Chmp
European
Superstock
600 		2011–2013 2011 Monza 2012 Nürburgring 2013 Portimão 22 2 6 3 1 260 1
Total 2011–2013 22 2 6 3 1 260 1

Races by year

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Pos Pts
2011 Yamaha ASS MNZ
4 		MIS
Ret 		ARA BRN SIL NÜR IMO
6 		MAG POR
7 		17th 32
2012 Yamaha IMO
7 		ASS MNZ
9 		MIS
15 		ARA BRN
6 		SIL
7 		NÜR
3 		POR
5 		MAG
5 		6th 74
2013 Kawasaki ARA
6 		ASS
7 		MNZ
6 		POR
1 		IMO
2 		SIL1
4 		SIL2
14 		NÜR
1 		MAG
2 		JER
2 		1st 154

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

By season

Season Class Motorcycle Team Race Win Podium Pole FLap Pts Plcd WCh
2013 Moto2 Suter Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 3 0 0 0 0 0 NC –
2014 Moto2 Kalex Italtrans Racing Team 18 0 0 0 0 75 11th –
2015 Moto2 Kalex Italtrans Racing Team 14 0 1 0 2 90 10th –
2016 Moto2 Kalex EG 0,0 Marc VDS 18 0 8 0 3 213 4th –
2017 Moto2 Kalex EG 0,0 Marc VDS 18 8 12 6 8 308 1st 1
2018 MotoGP Honda EG 0,0 Marc VDS 16 0 0 0 0 50 15th –
2019 MotoGP Yamaha Petronas Yamaha SRT 19 0 0 0 0 115 10th –
2020 MotoGP Yamaha Petronas Yamaha SRT 14 3 5 2 1 158 2nd –
2021 MotoGP Yamaha Petronas Yamaha SRT 8 0 1 0 0 40 17th –
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP 5 0 0 0 0 7
2022 MotoGP Yamaha Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP 20 0 0 0 0 42 19th –
2023 MotoGP Yamaha Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP 20 0 0 0 0 102 13th –
2024 MotoGP Ducati Prima Pramac Racing 20 0 0 0 0 173 9th –
Total 193 11 27 8 14 1373 1

By class

Class Seasons 1st GP 1st Pod 1st Win Race Win Podiums Pole FLap Pts WChmp
Moto2 2013–2017 2013 San Marino 2015 Indianapolis 2017 Qatar 71 8 21 6 13 686 1
MotoGP 2018–present 2018 Qatar 2020 Czech Republic 2020 San Marino 122 3 6 2 1 687 0
Total 2013–present 193 11 27 8 14 1373 1

Races by year

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Class Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Pos Pts
2013 Moto2 Suter QAT AME SPA FRA ITA CAT NED GER INP CZE GBR RSM
20 		ARA MAL AUS JPN
18 		VAL
17 		NC 0
2014 Moto2 Kalex QAT
25 		AME
17 		ARG
13 		SPA
20 		FRA
10 		ITA
10 		CAT
21 		NED
24 		GER
6 		INP
Ret 		CZE
8 		GBR
6 		RSM
7 		ARA
5 		JPN
7 		AUS
13 		MAL
Ret 		VAL
21 		11th 75
2015 Moto2 Kalex QAT
5 		AME
5 		ARG
5 		SPA
6 		FRA
5 		ITA
Ret 		CAT
8 		NED
19 		GER
Ret 		INP
3 		CZE
10 		GBR RSM ARA JPN AUS
11 		MAL
15 		VAL
Ret 		10th 90
2016 Moto2 Kalex QAT
7 		ARG
25 		AME
14 		SPA
4 		FRA
4 		ITA
8 		CAT
11 		NED
3 		GER
Ret 		AUT
2 		CZE
8 		GBR
2 		RSM
5 		ARA
3 		JPN
3 		AUS
2 		MAL
2 		VAL
3 		4th 213
2017 Moto2 Kalex QAT
1 		ARG
1 		AME
1 		SPA
Ret 		FRA
1 		ITA
4 		CAT
5 		NED
1 		GER
1 		CZE
8 		AUT
1 		GBR
3 		RSM
Ret 		ARA
1 		JPN
8 		AUS
3 		MAL
3 		VAL
2 		1st 308
2018 MotoGP Honda QAT
12 		ARG
14 		AME
21 		SPA
9 		FRA
13 		ITA
15 		CAT
14 		NED
DNS 		GER
WD 		CZE
13 		AUT
19 		GBR
C 		RSM
12 		ARA
11 		THA
14 		JPN
11 		AUS
8 		MAL
12 		VAL
Ret 		15th 50
2019 MotoGP Yamaha QAT
11 		ARG
Ret 		AME
5 		SPA
7 		FRA
7 		ITA
Ret 		CAT
Ret 		NED
5 		GER
9 		CZE
Ret 		AUT
10 		GBR
5 		RSM
5 		ARA
Ret 		THA
6 		JPN
6 		AUS
11 		MAL
6 		VAL
Ret 		10th 115
2020 MotoGP Yamaha SPA
5 		ANC
Ret 		CZE
2 		AUT
Ret 		STY
15 		RSM
1 		EMI
9 		CAT
4 		FRA
Ret 		ARA
6 		TER
1 		EUR
11 		VAL
1 		POR
3 		2nd 158
2021 MotoGP Yamaha QAT
18 		DOH
12 		POR
4 		SPA
3 		FRA
16 		ITA
16 		CAT
9 		GER
18 		NED STY AUT GBR ARA RSM
18 		AME
19 		EMI
14 		ALR
17 		VAL
11 		17th 47
2022 MotoGP Yamaha QAT
11 		INA
7 		ARG
Ret 		AME
16 		POR
13 		SPA
15 		FRA
15 		ITA
17 		CAT
13 		GER
13 		NED
Ret 		GBR
15 		AUT
Ret 		RSM
Ret 		ARA
17 		JPN
14 		THA
13 		AUS
Ret 		MAL
11 		VAL
10 		19th 42
2023 MotoGP Yamaha POR
14 		ARG
44 		AME
8 		SPA
11 		FRA
10 		ITA
10 		GER
12 		NED
9 		GBR
14 		AUT
119 		CAT
14 		RSM
15 		IND
7 		JPN
17 		INA
14 		AUS
17 		THA
11 		MAL
7 		QAT
16 		VAL
7 		13th 102
2024 MotoGP Ducati QAT
18 		POR
18 		AME
Ret 		SPA
Ret4 		FRA
7 		CAT
Ret 		ITA
64 		NED
99 		GER
55 		GBR
10 		AUT
86 		ARA
6 		RSM
Ret3 		EMI
59 		INA
45 		JPN
55 		AUS
65 		THA
Ret6 		MAL
146 		SLD
86 		9th 173

* Season still in progress.

World Rally Championship results

Year Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Pos Pts
2020 Hyundai i20 R5 MON SWE MEX EST TUR ITA MNZ
61 		NC 0

References

  1. ^ "FRANCO MORBIDELLI EMBARKS ON A NEW CHAPTER WITH DUCATI AND PRIMA PRAMAC RACING". Pramacracing.com. 18 September 2023.
  2. ^ "Franco Morbidelli is the 2017 Moto2 World Champion". 28 October 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d Garcia Casanova, Germán (5 November 2017). "How Morbidelli overcame tragedy to become Moto2 champion". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  4. ^ "Franco Morbidelli is not part of the MotoGP Dynasty of the same name". Speedweek.com (in German). 7 November 2013.
  5. ^ Patterson, Simon (29 October 2017). "Moto2: Champion Morbidelli crowned early as Luthi ruled unfit". Motorcycle News. Bauer Consumer Media Ltd. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  6. ^ Cobb, Haydn (24 August 2018). "Morbidelli, Quartararo revealed in Petronas Yamaha presentation". crash.net. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  7. ^ McLaren, Peter (13 July 2020). "Petronas Yamaha re-signs Morbidelli". Crash. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  8. ^ Jonathan Hawkins and Don Riddell (18 August 2020). "Brad Binder: Cheating death and creating MotoGP history". CNN. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  9. ^ Duncan, Lewis (9 August 2020). "Czech Republic MotoGP: Binder stuns for KTM to take maiden win at Brno". Autosport.com. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  10. ^ "Morbidelli wins first MotoGP race at San Marino". ESPN.co.uk. 13 September 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  11. ^ Duncan, Lewis (25 October 2020). "MotoGP Teruel: Morbidelli wins as Mir strengthens championship lead". Autosport.com. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  12. ^ Duncan, Lewis (9 November 2020). "Morbidelli forced to ride in "safety mode" due to pressure issue". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  13. ^ Duncan, Lewis (15 November 2020). "Valencia MotoGP: Mir crowned champion as Morbidelli wins last-lap thriller". Autosport.com. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  14. ^ Duncan, Lewis (23 June 2021). "Yamaha WSBK rider Gerloff replaces Morbidelli for Dutch MotoGP". Autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  15. ^ MotoGP 2021 Styrian GP motorsport.com Retrieved 18 August 2021
  16. ^ MotoGP Silverstone: Fabio Quartararo dominates the British Grand Prix Motorcycle News, 29 August 2021.
  17. ^ MotoGP Aragon: Francesco Bagnaia holds off Marc Marquez to take maiden win Motorcycle News, 12 September 2021.
  18. ^ Sports, Dorna. "Morbidelli joins Yamaha Factory Racing for 2021-2023". www.motogp.com.
  19. ^ "2022 MotoGP World Championship - Final rider line-up". Crash. 29 November 2021.
  20. ^ "Official: Franco Morbidelli joins Pramac Ducati for 2024 MotoGP season". 18 September 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
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