Marco Bezzecchi
VR46 had an agreement with Ducati that should have seen them race with two factory-spec bikes in 2026. But team boss Valentino Rossi gave up that right.
Ducati-contracted rider Fabio Di Giannantonio will continue on an up-to-date bike, but Franco Morbidelli will remain a year behind. Morbidelli moves from the GP24, arguably the best motorcycle on last year’s grid, to the troublesome GP25.
Rossi’s decision freed up an extra factory bike, and Gresini rider Alex Marquez was the beneficiary. Marquez has effectively been rewarded for finishing second in the championship.
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Teammate Fermin Aldeguer hoped to ride a GP26, but despite winning Rookie of the Year, he will have to wait for that privilege.
Franco Morbidelli’s inconsistency cost him a Ducati GP26 at VR46
Up to this point, the narrative was that Rossi gave up a factory bike when he missed out on Pedro Acosta. VR46 held talks with Acosta, but the Spaniard couldn’t find a way out of his KTM contract.
A rider of that status would have commanded top-of-the-range equipment, justifying the expense of another VR46. Acosta would have taken Morbidelli’s seat given that the Italian’s contract was due to expire at the end of the season.
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Morbidelli signed a new deal, but according to Motorsport Espana, his ‘inconsistency’ denied him an upgrade for 2026. He finished seventh in the championship, 31 points behind Di Giannantonio, though he did miss three races through injury.
Morbidelli only just outscored Aldeguer (16 points) and finished with the fewest podiums of any Ducati rider (four).
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The feeling is that Morbidelli is on ‘thin ice’ heading into 2026. A series of penalties this year have only solidified his erratic reputation.
As a graduate of the VR46 academy, Morbidelli has a close relationship with Rossi. But that makes it even more damning that The Doctor denied him the best equipment for next year.
Implicitly, Rossi does not have faith that Morbidelli will perform well enough to justify the expense of another GP26.
As they have made clear through the media, VR46 will try to sign Acosta again ahead of the 2027 season, and this time, there are no contractual hurdles. That puts Morbidelli under major pressure.
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