MotoGP rider Franco Morbidelli will leave the factory Yamaha team after the season, to be replaced by Álex Rins from Honda

Silly season in MotoGP is starting to pick up! Just a few days before the British GP, the factory Yamaha team announced that it would be terminating its partnership with its protégé Franco Morbidelli at the end of this season. The Italian has scored three grand prix wins in his five years with the stable. Yamaha unveiled a replacement for the 28-year-old Rome native a short time later. Morbelli will be replaced from the 2024 season by Spaniard Álex Rins, the current LCR Honda rider.

The MotoGP series returns after a six-week summer break with the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Two days before its start, the Japanese Yamaha stable issued a statement on its website that from next season onwards, the 2020 World Vice-Champion Franco Morbidelli of Italy will not ride for them.

In the official release, Yamaha sincerely thanked Morbidelli for his contribution to the team and for his positive approach to work. It also revealed that the Italian will be heading towards new racing challenges after this year’s season. However, the stable did not specify what those challenges are.

“First and foremost, I want to thank Franky [Morbidelli] for his hard work and dedication during his time with Yamaha’s factory and satellite teams,” Yamaha CEO Lin Jarvis said in an official statement.

“I am sorry that the last two years have not turned out the way we both envisioned. After discussions about continuing our partnership, we finally decided to make a change for both us and Franky. We will fully support Franky to bring the best possible conclusion to our time together,” concluded the Brit.

Morbidelli began his World Championship career ten years ago in Moto2. In his fifth season in the category, he won the world championship, which promoted him to the senior class of MotoGP. His first employer was Marc VDS Honda and he subsequently moved to the new satellite team Petronas Yamaha SRT.

In a metal-influenced 2020 season, he racked up three wins and lost just thirteen points to champion Joan Miró. Midway through the following season, however, he was injured and his move to the factory Yamaha team was announced. He didn’t make perfect friends with the Japanese machine, his best result coming in this year’s wet VC of Argentina, where he finished fourth.

Hours later, Yamaha announced that it had signed 27-year-old Álex Rins. It will be the third different team in three seasons for the Spaniard, who now races for the LCR Honda team. After Suzuki’s departure from MotoGP, he has found a commitment to Honda for this year, but the team is currently undergoing a deep crisis, despite his triumph in the US VC in April.

Source: Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team