Franco Morbidelli reflected on his 2024 MotoGP campaign and described it as a “great year” for himself despite no rostrum appearances on the GP24 Ducati.
Morbidelli replaced the departing Johann Zarco at Pramac for 2024 after two difficult years at Yamaha.
His tenure with the satellite team got off to a difficult start due to a heavy crash at the beginning of the year, which caused him to miss all pre-season testing and stunted his adaptation.
The GP24 bike the Italian rode picked up 16 grand prix victories throughout the 20-race season, with his team-mate Jorge Martin picking up three wins and the championship.
Despite these events, Morbidelli believes he has had a “great year” and feels that in 2025 he could challenge at the front after gaining a year’s experience on the Ducati.
“Overall [it] was a great year for the whole team. It was a great year for me as well,” he said.
“I came back to fight for top spots and I’m really close to top spots. I’m looking forward to making these last steps that allow me to get there and catch wins and podiums as I would like to – and consistently, as I would like to.
“But overall it was a great year for the team and me as well. We did a great comeback from the beginning of the year, from past two years. It’s a positive season.
“I lost some points [at the beginning of the year]. I think I could have fought for P5 in the championship. Not P4, not P3, neither P2 or P1. But P5, I could have fought for it.”
Morbidelli acknowledges room for improvement in 2025
Pramac Racing ended its affiliation with Ducati during the 2024 MotoGP season and has formed a new multi-year partnership with Yamaha.
His team-mate Martin signed for Aprilia before Pramac acquired Jack Miller and Miguel Oliveira, as Morbidelli announced his arrival with the VR46 Ducati outfit for 2025.
His move to VR46 sees him riding the GP24 for a second season, and he acknowledges what areas he needs to work on to have a better campaign.
“I didn’t manage to win this year. I got a podium just once in a sprint race [at Misano]. For sure there is room to improve. There are still things to manage well,” he said to Autosport.
“Also because it always seems like I’ve got the speed but [there was] always something missing in a race.
“Probably I need to work better with the team, work better for arranging the setting and things for the race.”
