Morbidelli is looking forward to the summer break: “I’ll be getting myself back on track!”

The MotoGP weekend at the Sachsenring didn’t get off to a bad start at all for VR46 rider Franco Morbidelli. In Friday’s qualifying session, he finished 10th, which meant he went straight through to Q2 on Saturday. But once again, the Italian got in his own way – or rather, in his rivals’ way. For dawdling on the racing line, ‘Morbido’ was handed a penalty for the Grand Prix – he was demoted three places on the grid.

But first came Saturday’s sessions. In qualifying, Morbidelli secured 7th on the grid. He was unable to capitalise on this in the sprint race – on lap 7, he crashed in the first corner. At the time of the crash, he was running in 10th place.

In Sunday’s main race, Morbidelli had to start from 10th on the grid due to the penalty. He lost a few positions right at the start and then struggled to fight his way back up the field. The Ducati rider crossed the finish line in 13th place, which at least earned him three World Championship points.

“It was a very difficult race. I started three places further back than in the sprint and simply couldn’t find the performance I’d been hoping for,” Morbidelli lamented. After a difficult first half of the season, the four-week break comes at just the right time for the 31-year-old. “This summer break comes at exactly the right time. It will be important to make a fresh start, find some peace of mind again and recharge my batteries so that I can be competitive once more on this bike, which has great potential. I’ll use this time to regroup and start the second half of the season well prepared. We’ve put in some promising performances in the first half of the championship, even if the results haven’t quite lived up to our expectations.”

Willkommen zum Rennen am Sachsenring

Foto: Gerhard Schiel

Grid Girls

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Jorge Martin

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Fans

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Marc Márquez

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Paddock

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Paddock

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Fabio Di Giannantonio

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Start des Rennens

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Start des Rennens

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Blick auf die Strecke

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Fabio Quartararo

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Alex Márquez

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Martin und Bagnaia

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Fans

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Fernández und Ogura

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Pedro Acosta

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Paddock

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Luca Marini

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Marc Márquez

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Pecco Bagnaia

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Binder und Moreira

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Marc Márquez gewinnt das Rennen

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Sieger Marc Márquez

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Sieger Marc Márquez

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Ai Ogura, Marc Márquez, Raúl Fernández

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Sieger Marc Márquez

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Willkommen zum Rennen am Sachsenring

© Gerhard Schiel

Franco Morbidelli has yet to find his form in 2026. The 2025 World Championship seventh-place finisher has mostly finished outside the top 10 in the first eleven Grands Prix. His best result came in the sprint race at Jerez, where he finished third. He currently sits 16th in the overall standings with 46 points. His VR46 team-mate Fabio Di Giannantonio, on the other hand, is enjoying his best MotoGP season to date. ‘Diggia’ is currently fifth in the World Championship standings. He is just 24 points behind leader Jorge Martin (Aprilia).

There will be no place for Morbidelli in MotoGP in 2027. The VR46 Academy rider is aiming to secure a place in next year’s World Superbike Championship.