Franco Morbidelli says that it would be “amazing” to have close friend and mentor Valentino Rossi join him at Petronas Yamaha for the 2021 MotoGP season, as the nine-time world champion comes ever closer to moving to the other side of the garage from his protege.
Morbidelli was the founding member of Rossi’s VR46 Riders Academy, and quickly became his regular training partner away from the track following the death of Marco Simoncelli in 2011.
The two have shared the track for two seasons and a bike for one, with Rossi helping the former Moto2 world champion to land a prime spot at Yamaha’s satellite Petronas team.
But with Rossi now believed to be ironing out the final details of his contract with Petronas, Morbidelli told The Race that it would be a dream come true for him.
“I’ve heard that Petronas is talking with a very special rider, and if he’s going to come I’m going to be happy,” Morbidelli said. “But until everything is certain, I can’t talk too much about it!
“It would feel amazing to have him as a team-mate. It would be a very nice story for me, but we’ll have to see what happens.”
Morbidelli has already secured his own future, too, with a contract extension signed before the season has even started to keep him at Petronas until 2022. Despite rumoured interest from other squads, he says that in the end he didn’t even consider other options when his Malaysian team offered him a new deal.
“I feel great with the people inside the team, I feel great with the people I work with, and I’m looking forward to this year and to the next two years. We’ve had great treatment from all our partners, especially Yamaha, and it’s a pleasure to stay in MotoGP with Petronas SRT.
“My goal is the same as every year; to improve on the results of the previous season. Last year was better than my first year in MotoGP. I put in a hell of a lot of work this winter and after lockdown to restart with the mojo and rhythm in testing, and I’m going to try to keep that going all year.”
The announcement of Rossi – whose spot at the factory Yamaha team will be taken by Fabio Quartararo – making the switch to the satellite outfit is still to be official, with The Race’s sources in the paddock believing it could be some weeks yet until it’s made public.
The final niggling point seems to be who exactly will join Rossi’s side of the garage, with Petronas adamant that it will keep its successful squad together and with room only for Rossi to bring his crew chief and rider coach to the squad.
