Franco Morbidelli has called for sweeping changes after a frustrating German MotoGP weekend, admitting he “wasn’t performing” and needs to improve in nearly every area to unlock the full potential of his VR46 Ducati.
The Italian endured a tough outing at the Sachsenring, crashing out of the Sprint and then starting the grand prix from tenth after a grid penalty for obstructing Pedro Acosta in practice. Early laps saw Morbidelli drop to 15th, and while he recovered to finish 13th, he crossed the line a staggering 31 seconds behind race winner Marc Marquez and nearly 20 seconds adrift of fellow Ducati rider Pecco Bagnaia.
“I couldn’t be fast in any part of the track, in any area. I wasn’t performing at all,” Morbidelli admitted. “This summer break is coming at the right moment. I’m going to try to regroup, focus, and get to the second part with a more open mindset. I will try to change all the things I need to adapt to this Ducati, because we can see the bike can perform well.”
Morbidelli was the only rider on the GP25 Ducati at the Sachsenring, with others on factory-spec GP26 machines. Despite this, he insists his satellite bike is capable of far better results, pointing to strong performances by Marc and Alex Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio.
When asked where he was losing ground, Morbidelli was candid: “Braking, mid-corner, and acceleration—especially mid-corner and acceleration in some types of corners. But also in some tracks, I missed the braking. So I will have to change many things.”
Currently 16th in the world championship, Morbidelli faces an uncertain future, as WorldSBK title leader Nicolo Bulega is tipped to join Fermin Aldeguer in an all-new VR46 line-up for MotoGP’s upcoming 850cc/Pirelli era.
