Valentino Rossi has been away from MotoGP for a year and a half, but his name, his number and his charisma are still more present than ever thanks to his pupils, especially now that the Mooney VR46 Racing Team is beginning to rear its head in the premier class just one year after its arrival in MotoGP.
A quick look at the championship overall shows how well Valentino is doing with his academy; Marco Bezzecchione of his protégés, leads the world championship after the round in Argentina, scene of the Rimini driver’s first victory after an undisputed triumph on the Termas track.
Behind Bezzecchi, with nine points less, Pecco Bagnaia occupies the second position of the general; the current MotoGP champion is another of the Italian diamonds that have grown under the shelter of the VR46 Academy, a quarry in which the former MotoGP runner-up in 2020 was also trained, Franco Morbidellipilot who seems to be recovering his form.
The Italian-Brazilian has been dragging a series of problems for two years that have kept him from the top positions; in 2021 he had to undergo knee surgery in the middle of the seasonand although three months later he was promoted to the official Yamaha team, his physical condition prevented him from being competitive the rest of the year.
2022 was another lousy year for Morbidelli, who accused the lack of competitiveness more than anyone else.na YZR-M1 that was in evidence against the potential of the Ducati.
And now, with the early dawn of 2023 and the pressure of losing your seat before the possible arrival of Toprak Razgatlioglu to the team, ‘Frankye’ seems to have recovered its best version, or at least a mirage of it. In Argentina, the Yamaha man fought like a wild boar for the podium in the two races of the weekend, signing two fourth positions that even allowed him to overtake Quartararo in the general classification, putting him three points ahead of his neighbor in the box.
Morbidelli was sincere in Termas when he was asked about this change of third in his performance, and made it clear that he “keep your feet on the ground”aware that it will not be easy to maintain this speed in a calendar made up of 21 Grands Prix and assuming “How easy it is to rise or sink in this category.”
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Staying at the gates of the podium in Argentina is a result that, in the words of Morbidelli, means “a confidence boost for me and the team. I look forward to getting to Austin, I’ll try to maintain this level in the next few races.”
In order to aspire to positions of honor, Morbidelli had to fight a duel with several rivals whom he also considers friends; Bezzecchi, Bagnaia and Luca Marini have shared endless hours of motorcycle training with ‘Frankye’ at Valentino Rossi’s ranch, where pitfalls in dirt-track racing are the order of the day.
Morbidelli acknowledged that, at times, “it looked like we were at the ranch” when he was in front of the two Mooney VR46 Racing Team riders and Bagnaia himself; there, it says, “We always fight very hard, but we are good friends and we have a great relationship.”
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The one from Yamaha claims that when they get on the dirt-track bikes at the ranch, “We don’t cut anything, we’re not afraid to hit each other”and there are no objections between them when someone crosses the line: “We are not afraid to tell someone that they have been a jerk. I think we have formed a great group. That is also reflected in the way we fight each other and other drivers.”summed up a reborn Franco Morbidelli.