Franco Morbidelli opened up about the self-doubt battles he faced before ending his four-year MotoGP podium drought in Argentina.

The Italian rider’s 1,414-day wait for another appearance on the rostrum ended as he secured third place at the Termas de Rio Hondo.

In those four years, the VR46 Ducati rider overcame various injuries and jumped ship from Yamaha to Ducati to turn his career around.

The former Moto2 champion spent one year at Pramac before returning home with the VR46 outfit, having previously been a graduate of Valentino Rossi’s Academy, which gave him another opportunity to impress on the same bike.

“They have been four very complicated years,” Morbidelli admitted to GPOne.

“In some [races] we didn’t make it by a narrow margin, in others we were really far away. Now to taste we are back on top and it will be nice stay there.

“Already last year, with the new bike, it should have been the moment of my rebirth, but just when we all thought the nightmare, we sank even further down, because I got injured and there were so many problems.

“Then the 2024 season ended with very good feelings, this year we got off to a very good start, and the extra year of experience on the bike gives me more feeling.”

Morbidelli discusses more about his internal battles

The Roma-born rider opened up about his internal battles throughout the four years.

“I had moments when I felt like I was forgetting how good it could be to be here, I had time to think about whether I was still capable, I had time to wonder if I was doing enough.

“I had time to think about lots and lots of things, good and bad.

“Now I am not even able to clearly say how I feel, it will be the Prosecco,” he joked.

Soft tyre choice paid dividends in the Sunday race

Morbidelli’s podium brought his championship tally to 37 points in the championship, six behind third-place rival Francesco Bagnaia.

The Italian explained that a challenging Saturday prompted a change in tyre choice for the main race, selecting the soft tyre compound.

“Yesterday actually I didn’t feel good on the bike and it got worse. In any case, today [Sunday] I chose the soft tyre, I knew I would have to give everything I had at the beginning of the race to make up as many positions as possible and afterwards focus mainly on managing the situation.

“During the race I saw that I could control the pace pretty well. I could not have caught up with Alex and Marc [Marquez], I just watched them from behind and it was a good battle.

“I will try in the future to improve the start of the weekend and the time attack to start a little bit ahead, because starting so far behind is not recommended to finish in the top 3.

“Finally, we still need to sort out that something we are lacking to stay with the two brothers.”

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VR46 Ducati rider Franco Morbidelli outlined his main goal for the upcoming Argentinian MotoGP race weekend.

Morbidelli produced a fourth place finish in the Sunday race after qualifying ninth at the season opener in Thailand.

The Italian sits fourth in the standings after a successful weekend, marking his best start to a season in his MotoGP career.

Morbidelli revealed that the focus is delivering strong results in the races, rather than aiming for a specific position.

Speaking ahead of the Argentina race weekend on Thursday, Morbidelli told GPOne: “I’m not expecting any particular result, I’m just focused on doing a good Grand Prix.

“We have to proceed as we did in Thailand, where the result was an actual mirror of our level.

“We are very focused on not making mistakes to run flawless weekends. The potential of the bike is very high and that is what we have to exploit to chase the top 5 in all GPs.

“In Buriram, we did that, and we have to do it here as well, trying to fill in what we lack from time to time.”

Morbidelli reviewed past race tapes to enhance his knowledge

After the cancellation of the 2024 edition, the upcoming race weekend marks the first time the 30-year-old will be racing with Ducati at the Autodromo Termas de Rio Hondo.

Morbidelli’s best result in the South American race came in 2023 with Yamaha, finishing fourth in both the Sprint and Grand Prix, marking his best results of the season.

He explained that he took the time between races to study his previous race to enhance his knowledge, but he knows that the 2023 Yamaha and his current GP24 have completely different characteristics.

“I watched a lot of videos from 2023 and was very happy to see what I was able to do with Yamaha.

“The last time a Yamaha qualified in fourth position I think it was right here with me two years ago.

“This year I think it will be a tough challenge to adapt the bikes to the track, to sort out the set-up, the electronics, the balance and whatnot.

“I don’t know what it will be like to race on this track again after two years, for sure it will be all the more difficult than in Thailand.

“In any case, I hope I can replicate a great performance.”

READ MORE – Jorge Martin confirms he will miss the Americas MotoGP round

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Franco Morbidelli ended the final MotoGP practice session quickest at the 2025 season opener in Thailand.

His lap time of 1.29.629s arrived in the closing minutes of the half-hour session, maintaining his strong pace around the Asian circuit.

Riders took to the Chang International Circuit for the final practice session before qualifying, which will commence shortly after.

The last free practice session sees teams fine-tuning its setups and gathering further data ahead of the Sprint and main race.

Despite all manufacturers booking a place in Q2 from the second practice on Sunday, Ducati dominated proceedings in the final session, claiming the top five spots.

Marc Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia finished their sessions as Morbidelli’s closest challengers, finishing 00.70s and 0.338s adrift.

The factory Ducati lineup duo marginally pipped its satellite entity Gresini Racing as rookie Fermin Aldgeur salvaged fourth spot ahead of the more experienced Spaniard Alex Marquez.

Despite the Bologna-based manufacturer occupying the leading five positions, Ai Ogura produced a stunning sixth for Trackhouse on his debut race weekend on the RS-GP Aprilia.

Fabio Di Giannantonio ended his final practice session in eighth place despite the difficult Friday session, finishing between the LCR Honda pairing of Johann Zarco and Somkiat Chantra.

Fabio Quartararo rounded off the top ten and once again finished the session as Yamahas number one rider.

All Honda riders have proven that its 2025 package is far better than last year as 2020 champion Joan Mir and teammate Luca Marini finished 11th and 13th place, respectively.

Raul Fernandez snatched 12th place, providing further optimism that both Trackhouse riders are the mix for this weekend.

Pedro Acosta finished as KTMs lead rider in this session and Marco Bezzecchi followed close behind in 15th.

The all new Pramac Yamaha duo of Jack Miller and Miguel Oliveira finished a second adrift off the leaders down in 16th and 17th.

The remaining three KTM riders of Brad Binder, Enea Bastianini, and Maverick Vinales were all within a tenth behind.

Alex Rins finished second last, a further few tenths down. The Ducatis out front and Rins were separated by 1.3s, discounting Aprilia test rider Lorenzo Savadori, who once again finished last.

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The VR46 Racing Team unveiled its livery for the 2025 MotoGP season at the Nusa Indah Theater in Jakarta, Indonesia on Saturday.

Valentino Rossi’s team heads into its fourth season in the sport since its entry back in 2022 with Ducati as its satellite team.

Racing under the name Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team for sponsorship reasons, the Tavullia-based outfit becomes Ducati’s official satellite team this year – taking over from Pramac.

As VR46 and title sponsor Pertamina head into the second year of its partnership, the live event took place in Indonesia – the headquarters of the oil company.

The fluorescent yellow famously associated with Rossi remained on the 2025 challenger alongside the white colour brought in from last season.

Very similar to last season’s livery, the Pertamina Enduro brand is once again showcased with a red background alongside the side of the bike.

Fabio Di Giannantonio, who finished 10th in the MotoGP standings last season, will be promoted to factory-spec GP25s after Marco Bezzecchi’s departure.

The 26-year-old ended his long-standing affiliation with the team to partner with the reigning champion Jorge Martin at Aprilia Racing.

Bezzecchi was a part of the team’s best season to date when it entered the sport three years ago – taking three wins on his way to finishing third in the championship.

However, Di Giannantonio and Bezzecchi struggled on the less competitive GP23 last season with the Rimini-born rider taking the team’s only podium finish of the 2024 campaign.

His replacement, Franco Morbidelli, joins after finishing ninth for Prima Pramac Racing and he is a long-standing member of the VR46 Riders Academy.

Morbidelli became the first World Champion among Rossi’s mentees when he won the Moto2 title in 2017 with MarcVDS Racing.

The Italian takes over from Bezzecchi on the GP24s for the 2025 season.

READ MORE: Ducati reveals Marc Marquez’s 2025 MotoGP bike

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Franco Morbidelli reflected on his 2024 MotoGP campaign and described it as a “great year” for himself despite no rostrum appearances on the GP24 Ducati.

Morbidelli replaced the departing Johann Zarco at Pramac for 2024 after two difficult years at Yamaha.

His tenure with the satellite team got off to a difficult start due to a heavy crash at the beginning of the year, which caused him to miss all pre-season testing and stunted his adaptation.

The GP24 bike the Italian rode picked up 16 grand prix victories throughout the 20-race season, with his team-mate Jorge Martin picking up three wins and the championship.

Despite these events, Morbidelli believes he has had a “great year” and feels that in 2025 he could challenge at the front after gaining a year’s experience on the Ducati.

“Overall [it] was a great year for the whole team. It was a great year for me as well,” he said.

“I came back to fight for top spots and I’m really close to top spots. I’m looking forward to making these last steps that allow me to get there and catch wins and podiums as I would like to – and consistently, as I would like to. 

“But overall it was a great year for the team and me as well. We did a great comeback from the beginning of the year, from past two years. It’s a positive season.

“I lost some points [at the beginning of the year]. I think I could have fought for P5 in the championship. Not P4, not P3, neither P2 or P1. But P5, I could have fought for it.”

Morbidelli acknowledges room for improvement in 2025

Pramac Racing ended its affiliation with Ducati during the 2024 MotoGP season and has formed a new multi-year partnership with Yamaha.

His team-mate Martin signed for Aprilia before Pramac acquired Jack Miller and Miguel Oliveira, as Morbidelli announced his arrival with the VR46 Ducati outfit for 2025.

His move to VR46 sees him riding the GP24 for a second season, and he acknowledges what areas he needs to work on to have a better campaign.

“I didn’t manage to win this year. I got a podium just once in a sprint race [at Misano]. For sure there is room to improve. There are still things to manage well,” he said to Autosport.

“Also because it always seems like I’ve got the speed but [there was] always something missing in a race.

“Probably I need to work better with the team, work better for arranging the setting and things for the race.”

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Franco Morbidelli capped off practice on top of the classification of the Indonesia MotoGP practice session around the Indonesia Mandalika International Circuit.

With riders formulating the optimal setup for the Sprint race later in the day, Morbidelli’s 1.30.330s placed him top of the classification list after the half-hour session.

Aleix Espargaro and Marc Marquez rounded off the top three, with the former making amends for a problematic Friday at the most crucial time.

Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin finished fourth and fifth aboard the GP24 bikes, with three GP24 riders inside the top five.

Despite nursing an injury, Fabio Di Giannantonio finished the final practice in sixth, ahead of the final GP24 rider of Enea Bastianini.

Maverick Vinales capped off a strong eighth for Aprilia, with Fabio Quartararo again finishing in the top ten.

Rookie Pedro Acosta finished in tenth spot ahead of Johann Zarco, who once again finished as lead Honda rider with 11th place.

Former Suzuki team-mates Alex Rins and Joan Mir occupied the 12th and 13th spots to deliver for Yamaha and Honda following its downturn in form.

Augusto Fernandez placed his GasGas KTM in 14th, with Brad Binder down in a surprise 15th.

Takaaki Nakagami and Luca Marini delivered 16th and 17th for Honda, ahead of the final two Ducati riders of Alex Marquez and Marco Bezzecchi.

Jack Miller and Raul Fernandez rounded off proceedings for KTM and Trackhouse Aprilia.

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Franco Morbidelli finished on top in the first MotoGP practice around the Mandalika International Circuit in Indonesia.

Morbidelli complied a quick lap time of 1.30.689s, which placed him 0.221s ahead of second-placed Maverick Vinales and 0.529s ahead of third-placed Jorge Martin.

The Asian leg of the MotoGP calendar commenced with the first practice session around the Mandalika International Circuit in Indonesia.

Due to crisp track conditions, riders chose different tyre runs to find the right optimal pairing. Earlier in the session, riders optimised two different strategies: soft fronts and medium rears or hard softs and medium rears.

The fast flow and fluidity of the track made it difficult to tell which riders and teams were most competitive in the early phases of the first session.

After the first 20 minutes of the session, three manufacturers held the top three positions, with Ducati, Yamaha and Aprilia all looking competitive in the weekend’s early phases.

With 20 minutes left to go, GasGas KTM rider Acosta was lapping quickest with a rapid run, but he ran it a bit wide in the final sector and, therefore, couldn’t improve.

The LCR Honda duo of Takaaki Nakagami and Johann Zarco arrived into the fold to set the two fastest laps. Still, the 1-2 in the classification appeared short-lived, with Ducati again showing its speed to go quicker once again.

Miguel Oliveira suffered a huge highside at Turn 4 on a fast lap time and appeared winded. He didn’t produce another lap time again in the session.

Morbidelli, Vinales and Martin’s lap times were separated by just over half a second, with GasGas rider rookie Acosta behind in fourth spot.

The most significant talking point belonged to Honda, with Zarco finishing as lead rider with a fifth overall finish.

Gresini Ducati rider Marc Marquez finished in sixth, with Marco Bezzecchi and Enea Bastianini following suit, with the three Ducati riders separated by under two-tenths.

Luca Marini’s final run placed him in the ninth spot, with Fabio Di Giannantonio and Nakagami occupying the tenth and 11th spots to continue Honda’s showings from the first practice.

Alex Marquez finished 12th aboard the second Gresini bike, with Brad Binder, Acosta’s nearest KTM challenger, finishing 13th.

Francesco Bagnaia had a session to forget with the 14th spot, ahead of the Yamaha duo of Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins.

Jack Miller and Joan Mir delivered a lacklustre 17th and 18th place for KTM and Honda, respectively.

Despite Vinales’ strong showing with second place, the rest of Aprilia occupied the tail end of the grid with Aleix Espargaro and Raul Fernandez finishing 19th and 20th.

Augusto Fernandez finished second bottom, with Oliveira rounding off proceedings, having not set a lap time from his high side crash earlier in the session.

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