MotoGP, Morbidelli: “Riding at the Ranch is like dancing, Rossi the quickest”

MotoGP, Morbidelli: “Riding at the Ranch is like dancing, Rossi the quickest”

The Italo-Brazilian Yamaha Petronas rider reveals the secrets of the Ranch in a video: “Flat track training teaches you not to be scared when a similar thing happens in a race”

25.01.2021 ( Aggiornata il 25.01.2021 12:38 )

Ahead of the 2021 MotoGP season, Franco Morbidelli continues his training at the Ranch together with Valentino Rossi and the Academy riders. In a video made by Dainese and posted on Youtube, the rider, who will be sharing the Petronas garage with Valentino this year, speaks about the importance of being able to train at the Ranch and reveals who the quickest guys are.

A typical day at the Ranch


“Training at the Ranch starts with Valentino sending us a message - says Morbidelli - He’ll write at 1pm and tells us what time to meet. Usually at around 5pm in summer and we train until about 9pm, but in the winter we bring that forward because it gets dark early”.

Once everyone arrives at the Ranch, the real fun begins: “We start by making some laps, as if it were free practice, so three or four sessions with a few flying laps and then we race.  We decide what kind of race we want to do. For example, one lap or an 'americana'. At the end of the day, we have dinner together at the Ranch.

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The importance of flat track


But just how important can the training be for a MotoGP rider? “Flat track is important because it gets you riding the bike sideways with the tyres sliding - explains Morbidelli – This means you won’t be scared if something similar happens on track during a real race. Everything we learn here can be useful on track. The Ranch is something unique, the things you can do here aren’t possible at other tracks. There are no structures like this, with this layout and surface. We’re lucky because many riders can’t train at a track like this. Riding here is like dancing, you move with the bike, you move your hips a lot and follow the bike as it tells you what to do".

Who’s the fastest?


Lastly, Franco talks about how he met Valentino, who’s always been a mentor to him: “I met Vale when I was 13. I started to train with him on track and at the gym, he wanted to help me and things went from there”.

At this point, all that remains is to reveal who’s the quickest: “Training with the Academy guys is great fun and always a challenge. The level of our training is always high and that means we continue to improve. Who’s the quickest? Vale, definitely, he’s one of the best and let’s not forget he’s the boss. Luca (Marini) is fast too though”.

Translated by Heather Watson

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