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Yamaha has officially announced that its partnership with Franco Morbidelli will be ending at the end of 2023. The Italian rider has been racing with the Iwata bike since 2019 (first in the Petronas team, then on the official team), with three victories, one 2nd place, and two 3rd places, ranking 2nd in the Championship in 2020.
The end of their relationship seems to leave no room for other projects together (such as the SBK one that was rumored about). As we had anticipated, everything seems ready for Alex Rins’ arrival on Yamaha’s official team.
Lin Jarvis, Managing Director of Yamaha Motor Racing, commented: “First and foremost, I want to thank Franky for his hard work and dedication, ever since he started with the Factory Team, and also long before that, when he was a Satellite rider for Yamaha. The Yamaha and Morbidelli partnership led to some great results, including an outstanding vice-champion title in 2020. It’s a shame that the last two years didn’t play out the way we both wanted and hoped for. We discussed the possibilities to continue our partnership but, ultimately, we decided that 2024 would be a moment to make a change, both for Yamaha and for Franky. The team will proceed to fully support Franky in every way we can, to close out our time spent together in the best way possible.”
