2024 a “nice 12 months” regardless of lack of outcomes on Ducati GP24

Franco Morbidelli has described 2024 as a “nice 12 months” for him regardless of failing to attain a grand prix podium on what was broadly thought to be the very best bike on the grid.

After two torrid seasons at Yamaha’s manufacturing facility workforce, Morbidelli moved to Pramac this 12 months alongside Jorge Martin, incomes the chance to journey Ducati’s newest GP24 prototype.

Nevertheless, a crash throughout coaching in January pressured him to overlook all official pre-season assessments, which means he didn’t get to journey his new bike till the opening spherical of the season in Qatar in March.

After steadily acclimatising to the Desmosedici, the Italian started to attain promising outcomes and went into the summer season break with a fifth-place end within the German Grand Prix.

However he was by no means fairly in a position to extract the tempo of the bike that powered his team-mate Jorge Martin to the title, ending up a distant ninth within the championship behind all different GP24 runners.

However Morbidelli thinks you will need to put his struggles at Yamaha into context whereas analysing his marketing campaign, suggesting he must take only one step with a purpose to combat for victories for the primary time since 2020.

“General [it] was an incredible 12 months for the entire workforce. It was an incredible 12 months for me as nicely,” he mentioned.

“I got here again to combat for prime spots and I am actually near prime spots. I am trying ahead to creating these final steps that permit me to get there and catch wins and podiums as I wish to – and persistently, as I wish to. 

“However total it was an incredible 12 months for the workforce and me as nicely. We did an incredible comeback from the start of the 12 months, from previous two years. It is a constructive season.

He added: “I misplaced some factors [at the beginning of the year]. I feel I may have fought for P5 within the championship. Not P4, not P3, neither P2 or P1. However P5, I may have fought for it.”

Morbidelli confirmed flashes of tempo through the 12 months, however wasn’t fairly in a position to convert his inherent velocity into outcomes. As an example, he rode spectacularly within the moist in Buriram to rise from eleventh to sixth early on, solely to then choose up a penalty for forcing his former team-mate Fabio Quartararo right into a crash.

The 29-year-old, who will transfer to VR46 in 2025, defined there are nonetheless some areas he must work on with a purpose to carry out at his potential.

“I did not handle to win this 12 months. I obtained a podium simply as soon as in a dash race [at Misano]. For certain there may be room to enhance. There are nonetheless issues to handle nicely,” he mentioned.

“Additionally as a result of it all the time looks like I’ve obtained the velocity however [there was] all the time one thing lacking in a race.

“In all probability I must work higher with the workforce, work higher for arranging the setting and issues for the race.”