Franco Morbidelli’s crash horror: “I didn't remember the names of my opponents”

Franco Morbidelli has shed light on his terrifying memory loss after his crash at the beginning of this year.

Morbidelli’s season started in the worst way after crashing a Panigale V4 at Portimao on a test day.

Marc Marquez and Alex Marquez were among the first on the scene, and Morbidelli was unconscious.

The Pramac Ducati rider missed official preseason MotoGP testing days, as a result, while it inevitably took time to get up to speed when the racing started.

But only recently, Morbidelli has revealed the extent of his injuries.

"Honestly, after a blow like that I didn't know if I could go back to the way I was before,” he told Gazzetta.

“I went through a really strange period, in which I didn't remember fundamental things.

“I no longer remembered my mother-in-law's name, I didn't remember the names of many of my opponents.

“The doctors told me to calm down, that it was normal. And then things actually started to improve."

Pramac boss Paolo Campinoti told Morbidelli: "Until recently you looked like a beaten dog, now you can see the desire to run on your face."

Morbidelli continued: "I'm back to fighting for interesting positions. And we're having fun.”

Morbidelli has racked up two P4s and a P5 in the past three grands prix.

Next year, rather than follow Pramac who are swapping Ducati for Yamaha, he will join the VR46 team.

"I would have kept him," Campinoti admitted.

The Pramac boss added: "He has to win a race, to complete the circle and say goodbye to us in the best way. I'd say Valencia would be good…”