Morbidelli: VR46 training 'the best, pulls you up when drowning’

That's according to Franco Morbidelli who has experienced both sides of that coin - 'flying high' while winning races and finishing title runner-up as a satellite rider in 2020, but then without a podium since joining the factory Monster Yamaha team in 2021 and only 19th in last year's standings.

Yamaha's technical difficulties are well documented, but being able to regularly measure himself against the likes of Ducati's reigning world champion Francesco Bagnaia, plus 2023 race winner Marco Bezzecchi and podium finisher Luca Marini on dirt bikes at Valentino Rossi's ranch and track days helps eliminate any personal doubts.

“More and more in the MotoGP field, we see that there are training ‘groups’ shaping up. And I think our training group is probably the best due to the level that we have, due to the experience that we have and due to the riders that are in that group,” Morbidelli explained.

“For sure, training is a whole different matter compared to racing and of course, we don't train with the MotoGP, we train with different bikes.

“But knowing each other better [as riders] and knowing the level that everybody has and then seeing what happens on the real [MotoGP] track…For sure training can be one of those things that keeps your feet on the ground if you are flying. Or that can pull you up if you feel yourself drowning.”

It wasn't enough to keep his seat for 2024, but Morbidelli has made a marked improvement in form compared to last season.

The Italian heads into his final home event as a Yamaha rider at Misano this weekend holding twelfth in the world championship, directly behind team-mate Fabio Quartararo.

For comparison, at the same stage of last season (11 rounds, albeit no Sprint races), Morbidelli was only 19th in the standings, then led by former champion Quartararo.

“Finally, I got in tune with the bike, and finally I understood how to extract potential with the bike,” said Morbidelli, who has adapted to a more aggressive riding style.

“It took a lot of time. It took one whole year. But finally, this year immediately I understood when I jumped on the bike that I could extract more potential and that was good to see.

“Clearly, it’s not enough, but nothing changed inside the crew. Just, you know, physiological time with the bike.”

Morbidelli, who looks set to join Pramac Ducati for 2024, has a best result of fourth place so far this season.