Marco Bezzecchi
VR46 have no interest in Franco Morbidelli riding the Ducati GP25 that Marc Marquez won the 2025 MotoGP title with after the 2026 Sepang test confirmed their concerns.
Marquez was in a class of his own last year, as he swept his seventh premier class crown so far in record-breaking style. Ducati celebrated throughout last year, after Marquez won the 2025 MotoGP title with five rounds to spare and took 11 Grand Prix wins from his 18 starts.
But Marquez was the only rider who could regularly make the GP25 work last season, as his Ducati teammate Francesco Bagnaia and VR46’s Fabio Di Giannantonio often struggled with the front end. Bagnaia ranked fifth in the 2025 standings, and Di Giannantonio ranked sixth.
Still, Morbidelli tried the Ducati GP25 at the 2026 Sepang test earlier this month, and it did not go too well for the 31-year-old. Morbidelli rued how he felt comfortable with the GP25 when using a medium rear Michelin tyre only to then lose all feelings with a soft tyre fitted.
Predict the order of the Ducati riders in the 2026 MotoGP standings
VR46 are intent on Franco Morbidelli riding a Ducati GP24 in the 2026 MotoGP season
So, Gazzetta dello Sport now reports that VR46 are ‘intent on abandoning’ the Ducati GP25, as they plan to again field Morbidelli on the GP24 that he used in the 2025 MotoGP season. Di Giannantonio will ride a GP26 in 2026 as the VR46 star has a factory contract with Ducati.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Franco Morbidelli from net worth to career stats
VR46 were already reluctant to accept a GP25 from Ducati for Morbidelli in 2026 due to the problems that Di Giannantonio and Bagnaia endured with the bike in 2025. But they agreed to at least see Morbidelli test the bike in Sepang, which only confirmed they do not want it.
It now remains to be seen what bike Morbidelli actually rides during the 2026 campaign, as Gazzetta dello Sport suggests that Ducati could give VR46 an upgraded version of the GP24 by incorporating a couple of the GP25’s updates. It is unclear what upgrades they would be.
Franco Morbidelli only finished three of the final 10 Grands Prix in 2025 inside the top five
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The 2026 MotoGP season will mark Morbidelli’s third campaign on the Ducati GP24, if VR46 can convince the Borgo Panigale crew to supply their 2024 package to the team once again. Morbidelli also rode a GP24 for Pramac in 2024, before he joined VR46 for the 2025 season.
VR46 saw Morbidelli seal seventh in the 2025 standings with his year-old GP24 after scoring 231 points to Di Giannantonio’s 262 aboard a GP25. Morbidelli also secured two Grand Prix podiums to his teammate’s four last year, but his rostrums came during the first four rounds.
Morbidelli finished third in the 2025 Argentina Grand Prix as well as in the Qatar Grand Prix, albeit only after KTM Tech3’s Maverick Vinales lost his P2 finish in the 2025 Qatar GP due to a tyre pressure penalty. He also secured one of his two Sprint podiums in 2025 in Qatar (P3).
The Italian’s other Sprint podium during the 2025 season came in Hungary with another P3. But Morbidelli only finished inside the top five in three of the final 10 Grands Prix last term, with P4 finishes in San Marino and Malaysia plus P5 in Japan, and did not finish three races.
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