MotoGP race winner facing uncertain future: “I haven’t finished my task here”
Franco Morbidelli says he has unfinished business in MotoGP despite growing uncertainty over his future on the grid.
Franco Morbidelli is among several MotoGP riders facing an uncertain future.
The 2020 Petronas Yamaha title runner-up broke a three-year podium drought with a pair of VR46 rostrums early last season.
Morbidelli’s standout performance so far this year is a third-place finish in the rain-interrupted Jerez Sprint.
“I want to dedicate this result to the people who are suffering, who are thinking that they have no chance, just thinking that they are worse than everybody," Morbidelli said after his surprise rostrum.
“My thoughts are with them... [People have been saying] ‘he has no chance, he cannot make the result, he has no speed, he has no whatever’. And here we are.
"I thank everybody inside the team, and I dedicate this podium to the people who are suffering.”
However, Morbidelli hasn’t finished higher than seventh in a dry race this year, has only one grand prix top ten and is 14th and last of the Ducati riders in the world championship standings.
Although team-mate Fabio di Giannantonio is set to switch to KTM next season, Morbidelli’s seat is under serious threat from a rumoured Fermin Aldeguer-Nicolo Bulega VR46 line-up.
Morbidelli isn’t the only MotoGP race winner who could be left out for 2027, with the likes of Alex Rins, Brad Binder and Jack Miller also currently thought to be without a ride for the 850cc machines.
A new career in World Superbike could be a viable alternative for those left out, especially given SBK’s switch to Michelin rubber.
However, Morbidelli said he still has unfinished business in MotoGP.
"I haven’t finished my task here"
“I'm a racer. I love racing. I haven’t finished my task here,” Morbidelli said of his future during the Balaton Park weekend.
“I think my task changed a little bit after the first three years in MotoGP. I was planning on winning the championship and I was really close after two years in 2020.
“But then I had some issues and I couldn't get close to my aim. So my aim changed a bit.
“Now it's getting back to win races first of all. It's going to be important to get back to winning races before thinking about winning a championship. I'm far from that at the moment.
“So I would like to clear [complete] my task. That's what I would like to do.”
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Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
