Franco Morbidelli will miss the entire 2024 MotoGP pre-season. The Italian rider suffered a bad accident during a private test in Portimao and the blow to the head prevented him from being in Malaysia, although he is currently in Lusail, where he is they are carrying out their final winter tests.
So, even if the new Prima Pramac Racing rider is not expected on the track before the Qatar Grand Prix (weekend of 8-10 March), the Roman is present to take part in the team's “shooting” in view of the presentation, also if his presence was not initially foreseen.
Speaking to “TNT Sports”, the television station that broadcasts MotoGP in the United Kingdom, the Italian confirmed that he is “very well” and once again thanked Marc and Alex Marquez for the help they gave him after the accident in Portugal. The two Gresini Racing brothers went to his aid, found him unconscious and remained with him until the ambulance arrived to transfer him.
“I'm very well. We were all a bit scared, but in the end everything went very well, I would say, so I'm very happy to be here”, began Morbidelli, before explaining what happened to him and underlining that he wanted to visit the Marquez garage to thank them again.
“The accident was quite peculiar. It happened during an out-lap and it was around lunch time. I don't remember much. But I know that two people I have to thank for being here are Marc and Alex. They intervened while I was at grounded and unconscious, and they did the right thing while I was on the track. I have to thank them and I will go and thank them,” he continued.
Morbidelli, in the Valencia test
Afterwards, Morbidelli explained the reason for his absence until the first Grand Prix of the year: “The doctors said that it would be quite dangerous to hit my head again at this moment, so we have to wait a little longer for a sport risky like MotoGP. We'll wait a little longer.”
However, Morbidelli can't wait to get back on the bike, especially to see the level of the Desmosedici GP24: “I will miss five days of testing, which are very important to build the feeling with the new team and with the new bike, especially because everything is new, but in any case I have the opportunity to be here, to work with the team, to be in the garage, to talk to my team and to see how the bikes work.”
“And honestly, looking at the Sepang tests, the new Ducati in general worked very well, so I'm really happy to see this and can't wait to get on the bike as soon as possible,” he concluded.
#MotoGP #Morbidelli #I39m #fine #I39ll #wait #longer
