Ducati Corse has confirmed that it would like to sign Yamaha rider Franco Morbidelli for 2024. The Italian is a free agent for next year as Yamaha has signed Alex Rins to replace him in a major turnaround of events.
Although the rumour mill is pretty unstoppable in MotoGP, this particular piece of information came from the horse's mouth. It was Paolo Ciabatti, the Sporting Director at Ducati Corse who confirmed the Italian marque's interest in Franky.
"I think Franco Morbidelli is in a difficult moment, but he has great talent. We would like to see Morbidelli on a Ducati next year. We will see what happens in the next few weeks," Paolo said to the sport's official website.
Should Morbidelli be signed by Ducati, it is likely that he will take up a seat at Gresini, replacing the underperforming Fabio Di Giannantonio for 2024. It is not clear whether Ducati will offer Franky (as he is usually addressed) a one- or a two-year deal.
Yamaha had let go of Morbidelli when the chance came for it to sign Alex Rins who currently rides for LCR Honda. Rins, currently the only Honda race winner with year, left the Japanese firm for he felt a lack of support, despite being competitive on a bike that has been proven to be very hard to ride.
"What has weighed the most is what has been seen race by race," Rins told a top streaming service. "In the end, Honda, HRC have preferred to give the factory team the new parts to test even though I am also a competitive rider. Well, I would have liked them to have given me a little bit more support," he said.