Morbidelli: ‘I lost my memory’ following pre-

Franco Morbidelli has revealed that he lost his memory for two weeks after his horrific crash in January, before the start of the 2024 MotoGP championship. The Prima Pramac Racing rider was preparing for the new season aboard a Ducati V4 Panigale in Portimao, during private tests with many other riders on the grid, when he crashed at Turn 7, hitting the asphalt with his head and falling unconscious on the track.

The Italian was taken to hospital, where doctors discovered a blood clot had formed in his head. The 29-year-old had previously explained that he had no memory of what had happened before and after the accident, describing his sensations as “unclear” and “strange”.

But in a new interview with the newspaper “La Repubblica”, the three-time MotoGP winner revealed that he was unable to even recognize his own family members while he was hospitalized.

“I never told you the whole truth about this accident,” Morbidelli began. “I lost my memory. For two weeks. I didn’t recognize people very close to me, important members of my family. It seemed impossible, but it was like that. I had all the fears in the world. All of them. Fortunately, we saw that my memories and lucidity were returning, little by little. Every day, one more detail and one more thing: my brain worked as before.”

On the advice of doctors, Morbidelli was forced to skip the two official pre-season tests scheduled for Malaysia and Qatar. Having left Yamaha for Ducati at the end of the previous season, he arrived at the start of the year in Lusail without having completed a single lap on the Desmosedici GP24.

Morbidelli thanked everyone who supported him in the run-up to the new season, as he made his debut in Qatar for the Borgo Panigale manufacturer with minimal preparation: “Two weeks before the race I was still a bit ‘gaga’. But my whole team, Pramac, and the sporting family around me were fantastic,” he said.

“Getting back on the bike was a very tough challenge: after all, I hadn’t done it for three months, since the last race of 2023 in Valencia. I didn’t train for a month. I was coming from a serious injury and the only way to overcome it was to stay still: you feel good, but the people around you know that’s not true”.

Morbidelli came from three difficult seasons at the Iwata factory, after being runner-up behind Joan Mir in the 2020 season, the one of COVID-19. Joining Pramac, with an official Ducati, was his chance for a fresh start, but not having had the chance to test the new bike he started the year on the wrong foot. Only in the fifth round of the season did the Italian-Brazilian regularly enter the top 10, his latest progress saw him qualify on the front row at the San Marino GP.

Franco Morbidelli, Pramac Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

However, not everyone was impressed by his speed on the fastest bike on the grid. Aleix Espargaro, for example, questioned why he would remain on the grid with Pertamina Enduro VR46 next year, when his place could have been taken by a promising Moto2 rider. Morbidelli admitted he had to fight back after the winter crash that almost derailed his premier-class career.

“After two difficult years with Yamaha, you get a blow like that and you tell yourself it’s the final blow. But I gritted my teeth,” he explained. “Life can test us at any time. I can say I’ve seen it all, but every time you learn that you have to be strong enough to handle adversity. As a man, there’s no doubt: I’m lucky to have my mother, my girlfriend, my family by my side. I’ve discovered that I’m very loved, I hope I deserve it,” he concluded.

Additional information by Lena Buffa