Valentino Rossi says his protege Franco Morbidelli “can be strong” on a Yamaha, as a deal for the young Italian to ride an M1 with the Petronas team in MotoGP in 2019 looks likely.
Morbidelli is the first of Rossi's VR46 Academy members to make it into the premier class, after the reigning Moto2 champion agreed a deal to join the Marc VDS Honda team for this season.
Originally penning a two-year contract, internal troubles and the ousting of team manage Michael Bartholemy has seen Morbidelli's deal nullified, with Marc VDS set to leave the premier class at the end of the year.
Linked to the incoming Petronas team – which will take over the Yamahas vacated by the KTM-bound Tech3 team – Rossi says Morbidelli's form on the difficult RC213V means he can do well on an M1 in 2019.
“Yes, I spend a lot of time with Franco, I know is potential and he can be strong also with the MotoGP,” Rossi said when asked of Morbidelli's prospects on a Yamaha.
“I think he already demonstrated something good this year, also the bike and the situation in the team is not easy.
“But he already did some good races, and I think that he can be strong with the Yamaha. But like I said always to him, I hope not enough to beat me.”
Morbidelli – who missed last weekend's Dutch TT through injury – is expected to be joined by outgoing Honda man Dani Pedrosa, who has confirmed an announcement on his future will be made next week at the Sachsenring.
Yamaha team director Massimo Meregalli says the prospect of a team consisting of Pedrosa and Morbidelli would be a 'very interesting package'.
“I am really, really curious,” Meregalli said when asked by motogp.com about the Petronas outfit.
“And honestly speaking, when I started hearing his name [Pedrosa] – thinking also about Morbidelli [being linked to the team] – I immediately thought the package was going to be very good and very interesting, because he has a lot of experience, he is coming from HRC.
“For sure he will bring some experience, and on the other side there will be this young and promising rider. So let's see. First of all, we have to have everything together.”
The Petronas team is set to take over the place of the Nieto team, with the satellite Ducati squad's current rider Alvaro Bautista one of the names in line to join Morbidelli should Pedrosa opt for retirement.
Ousted KTM man and former Tech3 Yamaha rider Bradley Smith is thought to be favoured over Bautista in the eventuality Pedrosa does not decide to extend his career, with the Briton not ruling out the possibility of retirement if he cannot find a competitive ride for next year.
