2023-04-21 18:59:22
MotoGP only has three races this year, but in the paddock they are already talking about what will happen in 2024… and even beyond this date. Next December the contracts of several drivers on the current grid of the premier class will expire, and although there are still two months to go until summer, drivers’ managers and team managers are already playing their cards, some publicly and others online. private.
Among the seats that could become free next year, there is one especially coveted: that of Franco Morbidelli. The immediate future of Italian-Brazilian right now hangs by a thread, or rather, its results; ‘Franky’ has not been on the podium since the 2021 Jerez Grand Prix, the same season in which his teammate, Fabio Quartararo, won the MotoGP title on the Yamaha YZR-M1.
At Yamaha they have already made it clear to Morbidelli that, if he does not wake up in the next races, he will have to leave the team at the end of the year; in Argentino there was a reaction from the Roman pilot thanks to the two fourth places signed in the Sprint Race and in the main race on Sunday, but then he disappeared again in Austin, the same track where Fabio achieved a third position.
Among the names that Lin Jarvis is considering to occupy the position of Franco Morbidelli there are two Spaniards; The Briton has been paying attention to one of the best Moto2 riders of last year, Alonso Lopezand there is also another man from Madrid who is interested in Iwata, Jorge Martinwho has a current contract with Ducati until the end of 2023.
In Austin, Motogp.com approached Jarvis on this issue, and the Yamaha Racing boss acknowledged that Martín “He is a very good pilot”to add after that “there are other good pilots too” within your radar. “We could consider people from the current MotoGP grid, or also from Moto2. Now I don’t want to give names, our priority is FrankyJarvis remarked.
Outside this paddock, there is also another rider with ballots to keep Morbidelli’s bike, and it is none other than Toprak Razgatlioglu. The Turk was testing the YZR-M1 in a two-day test organized by Yamaha before the Grand Prix of the Americas, a contact that allowed Toprak and the Yamaha management to understand the potential of the Alanya rider on MotoGP from Iwata.
Regarding Razgatlioglu, Jarvis did not hide that the Turko “He is one of the main candidates if he wants to take the plunge”, adding that also “they will look in the MotoGP paddock”. “Hopefully we can continue with Franky and his recent speed and confidence. To be honest, this will all be considered in the middle of the season. At that point we all need to know what the plans are for next year. But there is no specific date set for decide”finished off the British manager.
In Austin, Martín also gave some clues about where we could see him in 2024; the spanish said that “it’s still early to talk” of your future, although he admitted “be open to any proposal” when asked about Yamaha’s supposed interest in hiring him, later revealing that his priority is to remain linked to Ducati in 2024, still with PRAMAC, thinking of a hypothetical jump to the official team in 2025, an opportunity he lost this year in by Enea Bastianini.
Read also: (Video) The crazy celebration of Rins and the call he received from Alberto Puig in Austin
The number 89 said that, at this moment, he has the feeling that “I am fast and consistent and I can do very good races“, praising the qualities of his Desmosedici, revealing that his target at the moments “is to do a good job and hopefully be next to Pecco (Bagnaia) after 2024, that is, in red“he said in reference to the seat that Bastianini currently occupies.
#Bagnaia