Franco Morbidelli did “a real sprint race” to end MotoGP podium drought at Misano

Franco Morbidelli says he was able to do a “real sprint race” at MotoGP’s San Marino Grand Prix as he ended his podium drought with a third-place finish on Saturday.

The Pramac rider hasn’t had an easy season since stepping onto the Ducati, with the Italian losing all of the pre-season to a concussion and starting the campaign on the back foot as a result.

In recent rounds Morbidelli has started to show good pace on the GP24 and at Misano he qualified on the front row for the first time since the 2021 Spanish GP.

In the sprint he fended off factory Ducati team rider Enea Bastianini to secure the last step on the podium, which marked his first in a sprint and his first of any kind since Jerez 2021.

Morbidelli admits he is “lacking in some areas” compared to the leading Ducatis, but feels the speed he showed was genuine.

“Was a great Saturday,” he began.

“We made front row in the morning and this afternoon we managed to make a ‘real’ sprint race, I mean by rhythm.

“The top two guys were able to keep a very impressive rhythm and we managed to stay there.

“We were lacking a little bit in some areas, but finally it was good enough to get P3.

“I’m really happy. We will try for tomorrow to bring some improvements and get better. Let’s see if we managed to.”

Morbidelli added: “I mean, it’s quite a while that I didn’t have this feeling [while] riding.

“Now I’m getting back on having that kind of feeling, which is helped for sure by seeing the first position there. I want to keep it that way.”

While the former Misano grand prix winner will start Sunday’s full distance race as a favourite to battle for the podium, Morbidelli says tyre choice will be critical for him.  

“First of all, we’ve got to choose the tyre,” he said.

“It’s going to be important to make the right choice and it’s going to be important to make some other steps for having a better performance and a better feeling in some areas.”