VR46 rider Morbidelli: Blistering pace, but mistakes and a penalty at his home Grand Prix

This is not the first time Franco Morbidelli has experienced a mixed and unusual MotoGP race weekend. The start to the rider and VR46 team’s home race at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli was uneventful and showed that Morbidelli is still among the fastest riders on the Adriatic circuit. ‘Morbido’ immediately set some good lap times. In the end, he finished 13th, 0.7 seconds behind leader Marc Márquez; he was two places and a few tenths behind his team-mate Di Giannantonio, who had consistently been significantly faster recently.

The crucial qualifying session then proved to be a remarkable mix of speed and struggle. It began in true ‘Morbido’ style with a late start. Whilst the first riders were out on the track, the Roman rider was only just slipping into his leathers. Only to immediately find himself amongst the fastest. On both medium and soft tyres, the number 21 rider was on a par with his team-mate and was always assured of a place in Q2.

When it finally came down to it, Morbidelli stepped it up: second place ahead of Marc Marquez and behind his Academy mate Bezzecchi. But seconds later, the lap was disallowed. Morbidelli had misjudged the line by a matter of millimetres and had strayed beyond the permitted track limits.

Morbidelli pulled off the track and fitted a fresh rear tyre. And once again, he was off at full throttle. In his farewell appearance as a MotoGP rider, he clocked a time of 1:30.415 – good enough for fifth place behind Di Giannantonio and thus direct qualification for Q2.

The real, far-reaching incident had already taken place by then. In the early stages of the session, Morbidelli was once again just standing in the way. At Turn 13, KTM rider Enea Bastianini fell victim to the laid-back straggler. It took a full two hours before the Stewards’ Commission reached its verdict: a penalty! Morbidelli must now serve a long-lap penalty during Sunday’s Grand Prix race. Under normal circumstances, a top result in front of the Tifosi would be out of the question.

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Misano: Qualifying MotoGP

MotoGP World Championship

12.09.2026 - 10:40

Morbidelli, who had merely suspected the penalty after qualifying, remained, unsurprisingly, relaxed: “For me, it’s important to have confidence in the bike. And that was there right from the first lap. We’re in a good position here; I know the track very well, so everything fell into place during the final push.”