Valentino Rossi and VR46 have just reached agreement with ‘great talent’ for 2026 MotoGP season

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Valentino Rossi and VR46 may be somewhat frustrated with how their 2025 season has played out. They’ve arguably failed to maximise the potential of their Ducati bikes.

VR46 are above Gresini in the Ducati hierarchy, with Fabio di Giannantonio receiving a factory-spec bike. However, Nadia Padovani’s squad have outscored them by 91 points with eight rounds remaining.

Franco Morbidelli and Di Giannantonio have fallen to sixth and seventh in the championship respectively, with Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi and KTM’s Pedro Acosta jumping ahead. They have combined for four Grand Prix podiums, half of what Gresini have managed and fewer than Bezzecchi (five).

Both riders have perhaps lacked consistency. VR46 have been strongly linked with Acosta, who has expressed intense frustration with KTM’s inability to deliver a contending bike.

There has also been chatter that Gresini’s Fermin Aldeguer could move to VR46 to honour a clause in his Ducati contract requiring him to have an up-to-date bike in year two.

Franco Morbidelli has now renewed his contract with VR46

Italian magazine MOW recently conducted an interview with Morbidelli. And they reveal in the course of their article that he’s ‘just renewed his contract’ for next year.

The Italian, described as a ‘great talent’ by former crew chief Ramon Forcada on the Duralavita podcast, was one of the few riders who entered the season with an expiring contract. He only signed for 12 months when he shuffled across from Pramac.

Though Morbidelli isn’t satisfied with his own performances, he has outscored Di Giannantonio (by seven points) despite missing three races through injury, and he also leads the qualifying head-to-head 9-4.

Morbidelli’s close relationship with Rossi, as a founding member of his academy, always made an extension appear likely. Now all that remains is an announcement.

Franco Morbidelli’s honest reaction to the Pedro Acosta rumours

Morbidelli ‘can’t say’ what he really thinks of Alex Marquez, who has outperformed him in the GP24 mini-league. That highlights the 30-year-old’s frustration, but he’s done enough to stay on the grid ahead of what’s expected to be a wild 2027 rider market.

Morbidelli wouldn’t have a ‘problem’ with being replaced if Rossi and Uccio Salucci deem it necessary. He recalls that the Acosta links got particularly ‘hot’ in late June.

The KTM rider has confirmed that talks took place, but it’s widely understood that he wasn’t able to find a way out of his contract. Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta has threatened to exclude riders who don’t end such disputes amicably.

• READ MORE: How Pedro Acosta responded when asked if he could beat Marc Marquez on a Ducati

Elsewhere in his MOW interview, Morbidelli explained that a move to World Superbikes appeals to him, but isn’t in his immediate plans. He could theoretically change disciplines for 2027 if he doesn’t receive a compelling MotoGP offer – assuming his new deal will only be one year to align with most other riders.

“I’ve thought about it, I’m thinking about it,” he said. “I’m not ruling it out because you never know what awaits you on your journey, in your career.

“What I can tell you is that for now I still see it as a long way off; it will depend a lot on the results and what I’ll be able to bring to the track. We’ll see what kind of results I’ll be able to achieve in the coming years.

“But I like Superbike, MotoGP definitely excites me more right now: I’m 30, I’m not that old, and I’m having a lot of fun. I’m fighting for the top five or seven positions at a time when I’m coming back from injury.

“The positions are interesting and the level is interesting, even if we’re not the benchmark many expect of us, as we’ve shown in the past. We’ll try to continue our journey to get back to being consistently up there, then we’ll see.”