Morbidelli to Yamaha
Young gun could replace Rossi if he has a hot 2019
Yamaha MotoGP bosses have admitted exclusively to MCN that VR46 Academy rider Franco Morbidelli could be first in line to replace his mentor Valentino Rossi at the factory squad should the Italian show promise next season with the new satellite Petronas Yamaha team.
The Italian-Brazilian racer, the first world champion and first MotoGP rider to graduate from Rossi’s successful youth academy programme, has had a difficult start to his MotoGP career to date.
Riding an uncompetitive and crash-prone Marc VDS Honda, he’s taken a best finish of ninth and remains two points behind Tech 3 Yamaha rider Hafizh Syahrin in the battle for rookie of the year.
But for 2019 he will move to an almost factory-spec Yamaha with the new Petronas team. Factory boss Lin Jarvis told MCN that his chances are high of a promotion to the factory team in 2021 if he delivers the goods between now and then.
Jarvis said: “Franco is the current
‘If he performs well I don’t see why he wouldn’t be top of the list’
Moto2 champion, which means he’s already got what it takes. He’s very fast, he’s very serious and he’s got a good head on his shoulders. “We’ve been able to pick him up and give him a great opportunity. But there’ll be no pressure on him next year.
“He’s got a two-year contract with the team and after that our contracts with Rossi and Viñales expire, so who knows what could happen?
“There could be opportunities in the factory team, and if he performs well then I don’t see why he won’t be top of the list.”
And with top-spec machinery similar to that of the factory riders next season and with the guidance of Viñales’ current crew chief, Roman Forcado, there should be potential for the 23-year-old to do just that.
The strong links between the Petronas team and the factoryspec equipment marks a notable shift away from the Yamaha’s previous relationship with the KTM-bound Tech 3 outfit, whose riders were rarely offered a chance at factory promotion and
whose bikes were normally year-old hand-me-downs.
But while Yamaha are building close ties with the new Malaysian squad, Jarvis also confirmed that this doesn’t preclude Rossi bringing his own Team Sky squad to the premier class when he retires, with Jarvis confirming that Yamaha are prepared to expand their involvement to six machines.