Franco Says Relax

Next year Moto2 ace Franco Morbidelli will be the first VR46 rider to make it to MotoGP. But the young Roman is more laidback than any title challenger has a right to be – is that something to do with his teacher?

- Mat Oxley

FRANCO MORBIDELLI is not your usual young motorcycling maniac. Chatting with the 22-year-old Roman is more like hanging out with a musician than a racer. His demeanour is different to most average young racetrack assassins: he moves slowly, talks thoughtfully, always with a knowing smile that tells you there’s more going on inside his head than he’s letting on. He seems so relaxed and exudes so much cool that he doesn’t seem in a hurry to get up from the table, let along lap a race track at 170mph.

This is not normal for a youngster scrambling up the Grand Prix ladder. Usually they are buzzing out of their brains on that bonkers mix of testosterone and adrenaline, glancing at their watches, anxious to get away from this idiot journalist to go pull some wheelies on a scooter. But not Franco.

So please bear with me on this: Morbidelli reminds me of Jimi Hendrix. No, really. His look for starters, plus that messy mane of hair, also his laidback American/English accent, but most of all his insouciance, the way he glides through a life that has most riders chewing their fingernails, heartbeats on the rev-limiter, morning, noon and night.

Morbidelli is, quite simply, ridiculously relaxed. Even when he crashes out of a race, he returns to his garage entirely unruffled. And he wants his crew to stay relaxed. Unlike many riders, he doesn’t put them under pressure and stress them out. He wants a happy garage.