Franco Morbidelli teases clues about his next move: “I have my preference…”

Franco Morbidelli has revealed he and Ducati are getting closer to a deal for the 2024 MotoGP season.
Franco Morbidelli, Yamaha MotoGP Silverstone 2023
Franco Morbidelli, Yamaha MotoGP Silverstone 2023

The Italian will leave Yamaha at the end of t🥃his season after losing his factory seat to Alex Rins.

🔥However, a move away is not only on the verge of being sealed, bu💯t it’s one that could catapult him back into the mix.

Ducati have the best package on the grid at the moment, and with Pramac Ducati able to offer ♕any rider a full factory bike, Morbidelli looks set to be 𓆏back where he feels he belongs.

Speaking about his future, Morbidelli said this ahead of the Catalan Grand P🐻rix weekend: "It’s becoming more and more clear, for sure. It’s no secret that me and Ducati are getting in touch, and💧 are getting closer. 

"But nothin🧸g is sealed yet. We are working on it. W🍷e’ll see in the future what happens.

"For sure, there are a little better dea🔯ls, and a little less good deals,✱ on the menu! But everything is not decided yet. 

"I have my preference, for sure. It’s no secret that Pramac has factory-spec and that’s really appealing for a rid🐷er. It’s no secret. 

"I’m lucky enough to have great people surrounding me🧔, working with me trying to assure the best future possi🤡ble, the most competitive possible. That’s what we’re aiming for."

If Morbidelli does join Pram♏ac alongside Jorge Martin, then it will mean he takes the seat that many expected Marco Bezzecchi to be on.

The Mooney VR46 rider was a contender for that seat even before Johann Zarco departed for LCR Honda, but with the Italian keen to remain part of Valentino ไRossi’s team, Ducati have been forced to look elsewhere.

Perhaps a surprising decision for some given the fact Bezzecchi turned down a full factory machine, Morbidelli says every rider is different and thus different motives come int🍨o play.

Morbidelli added: "That is what he chose. I’m🍨 not in his mind. Everybody has a different men🐟tality, and a different mind. This is what he chose."

In terms of this weekend, Morbidelli is hoping to continue his good showing from the Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring, at a circuit that Yamaha aꦦnd Fabio Quartararo have gone well at in the past. 

"Last year, I had a very good Friday here. Not so good S🐎aturday and Sunday. On Sunday I was caught up in an accident on the first corner, and I was last basically, and I had to recover.

"It’s one of the weekends where, last year, Fabio was very competitive. He gave the feeling that the Yamaha could💙 work well here.

"So let’s see if ⛦we manage a better performance than Austria or Silverstone, let’s see. There isও a little bit more confidence because of my Friday and Fabio’s Sunday last year.

"We race in the present and not in the past. As we know, everyone else made a big step. So, for sure, we will struggle but I have a little bit more confidence൩, as we𝓰 did at the Sachsenring.

"The races where, last year, Fabio was reall🗹y good, and I was a little less bad,ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ we’ve got to have more confidence in those races!

"How many races did 🌳Fabio win lasဣt year? At least in those races, we’ve got to have more confidence."

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