Franco Morbidelli Surprised by Sepang MotoGP Testing Crashes: 'Bad to See'

Alex Harrington | Feb 8, 2025

Apr 14, 2024; Austin, TX, USA; Franco Morbidelli (21) of Italy and Prima Pramac Racing before the MotoGP Grand Prix of The Americas at Circuit of The Americas. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Franco Morbidelli's recent reflections on the Sepang MotoGP testing sessions reveal a strong optimism for the upcoming 2025 season. But despite this, he was surprised to see the sheer number of crashes and injuries sustsained by his fellow riders.

Over three days of testing, Morbidelli managed to connect successfully with his new Petamina Enduro VR46 team, achieve strong time trial performances, and conduct a demanding race simulation under challenging conditions. Despite this, the unexpected crashes added an unsettling note to the otherwise promising tests.  

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In 2024, the season looked very different for Morbidelli. A serious crash early in the year during a WorldSBK test at Portimao resulted in substantial challenges, including a hospital stay , a blood clot in his head, and memory loss.

This crash forced him to miss key preseason tests in Sepang and Qatar, crucial opportunities for getting comfortable with the Ducati GP24 after his move from Yamaha. These setbacks followed two difficult seasons with Yamaha, during which Morbidelli sought to find his footing and regain his expected level of performance.

Now, with the new season on the horizon, Morbidelli finds himself in a much better position. Reflecting on the initial days with his new team at VR46, he describes the integration as “super positive.”

“I worked fantastically with the new team, it didn’t feel like the first time we worked together because we seem to be able to understand each other well and that makes me very happy," he said.  

His performance in Sepang saw improvement in the time attack areas, where he managed to shave off tenths of seconds compared to his previous records. While he admitted some room for further improvement, this start provided a positive momentum for Morbidelli to build upon.  

One of the highlights was Morbidelli's successful execution of a 16-lap race simulation, despite the overwhelming heat and typical fatigue associated with such efforts.

"I missed doing a long run in Malaysia on day three, at 1 p.m. I don’t know what I could have done to make it even more complicated. Maybe bring a passenger? I don’t know," he joked.

"It was really tough, it was very hot and it was very challenging to do a simulation after three days at the end of the morning work. It was cool, though, and I was fast. I was almost forgetting about it but that’s good, if we forget about the heat, the fatigue and all the problems that come with the first long run of the year."

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The crashes during the first day of testing surprised him, but Morbidelli took it in stride.

"Apart from the crashes on the first day, which were bad to see and surprised me in a negative way, everything was in the norm."

Recognizing the risks inherent in testing, he remains focused on leveraging his familiarity with the bike from past seasons to grow.

"In Buriram we will have to spend some time preparing the bike for the GP. It will be very important to arrive ready and I am sure that with Matteo [Flamigni, crew chief] we will do it in the best possible way,"

Comparing improvements over the past year, he shared:

"If I think about where I was last year, right now I was in a much worse situation, and I can’t be more grateful than the people back home who are by my side and who I had by my side all last year, because even the team I was running in last season helped me restart after that bump and make it seem like an almost normal restart.

"I’m very grateful to the people who were there for me last year and I hope to make them rejoice this year instead of working to recover."

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