8 hours ago
Photos by VR46 Racing Team.
Franco Morbidelli will serve a long lap penalty in Sunday's Misano Grand Prix. The FIM MotoGP Stewards judged him guilty of "riding slowly online disturbing another rider," this time impeding Enea Bastianini at Turn 13 during Friday afternoon practice, according to the stewards' penalty notice.
The Stewards classified the incident as MGP-SR3, "Dangerous slow riding during any session," and made clear the punishment reflected a pattern rather than a single lapse. "Taking into account the rider's multiple offences during the season, the appropriate penalty in this case is a Long Lap Penalty," the notice read. Crucially, the sanction applies only to Sunday's Grand Prix and not the Sprint on Saturday. To serve the penalty, Morbidelli will need to ride through a designated path off the racing line, which can typically add 2 to 5 seconds of lap time.
"I know it's a pity and I know a lot of people will hate, but I can **** ure you that my intention is never to be dangerous or to impede," Morbidelli posted on Instagram. "Let's be honest it happens because I'm not clever enough on those slowing down moments."
The penalty puts a damper on what may be Morbidelli's final home Misano weekend in the premier class. Morbidelli is leaving the VR46 team at the end of this season, and is expected to race for Ducati's World Superbike team in 2027. Squandering a Q2 starting berth with a long lap in front of his home crowd is exactly the kind of complication he didn't need on a farewell weekend on the Riviera.
#penalty #morbidelli #stewards #vr46
Franco Morbidelli will serve a long lap penalty in Sunday's Misano Grand Prix. The FIM MotoGP Stewards judged him guilty of "riding slowly online disturbing another rider," this time impeding Enea Bastianini at Turn 13 during Friday afternoon practice, according to the stewards' penalty notice.
The Stewards classified the incident as MGP-SR3, "Dangerous slow riding during any session," and made clear the punishment reflected a pattern rather than a single lapse. "Taking into account the rider's multiple offences during the season, the appropriate penalty in this case is a Long Lap Penalty," the notice read. Crucially, the sanction applies only to Sunday's Grand Prix and not the Sprint on Saturday. To serve the penalty, Morbidelli will need to ride through a designated path off the racing line, which can typically add 2 to 5 seconds of lap time.
"I know it's a pity and I know a lot of people will hate, but I can **** ure you that my intention is never to be dangerous or to impede," Morbidelli posted on Instagram. "Let's be honest it happens because I'm not clever enough on those slowing down moments."
The penalty puts a damper on what may be Morbidelli's final home Misano weekend in the premier class. Morbidelli is leaving the VR46 team at the end of this season, and is expected to race for Ducati's World Superbike team in 2027. Squandering a Q2 starting berth with a long lap in front of his home crowd is exactly the kind of complication he didn't need on a farewell weekend on the Riviera.
#penalty #morbidelli #stewards #vr46
3 months ago
Marc Marquez says that his team-mate Francesco Bagnaia’s victory in the Czech Grand Prix sprint proves that Ducati’s 2026 MotoGP bike is capable of winning the **** le.
Lining up third on the grid, Bagnaia grabbed the lead at the start on his factory Ducati, passing both polesitter Ai Ogura and VR46’s Fabio di Giannantonio on the run down to Turn 1.
For the remainder of the race, the three-time world champion came under intense pressure from the Trackhouse Aprilia rider, who closed in rapidly on him in the final laps.
But Bagnaia didn’t put a foot wrong and eventually crossed the finish line 0.241s ahead, claiming his first sprint win of 2026 and the fifth for Ducati in nine attempts.
More significantly, it allowed Ducati to close the gap to Aprilia in all three championships, particularly with points leader Marco Bezzecchi crashing out on the penultimate lap and Jorge Martin only managing fifth.
Lining up third on the grid, Bagnaia grabbed the lead at the start on his factory Ducati, passing both polesitter Ai Ogura and VR46’s Fabio di Giannantonio on the run down to Turn 1.
For the remainder of the race, the three-time world champion came under intense pressure from the Trackhouse Aprilia rider, who closed in rapidly on him in the final laps.
But Bagnaia didn’t put a foot wrong and eventually crossed the finish line 0.241s ahead, claiming his first sprint win of 2026 and the fifth for Ducati in nine attempts.
More significantly, it allowed Ducati to close the gap to Aprilia in all three championships, particularly with points leader Marco Bezzecchi crashing out on the penultimate lap and Jorge Martin only managing fifth.
