Valentino Rossi says his protege Franco Morbidelli “can be strong” on a Yamaha, as a deal for the young Italian to ride an M1 with the Petronas team in MotoGP in 2019 looks likely. Morbidelli is the first of Rossi's VR46 Academy members to make it into the premier class, after the reigning Moto2 champion agreed a deal to join the Marc VDS Honda team for this season. Originally penning a two-year contract, internal troubles and the ousting of team manage Michael Bartholemy has seen Morbidelli's deal nullified, with Marc VDS set to leave the premier class at the end of the year. Linked to the incoming Petronas team – which will take over the Yamahas vacated by the...
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