Valentino Rossi "warns" Di Giannantonio and Morbidelli: VR46 riders under pressure

High expectations for VR46’s 2026 MotoGP World Championship: Di Giannantonio and Morbidelli called to do better than in 2025.

After Prima Pramac Yamaha, today it was Pertamina Enduro VR46’s turn to stage the customary team presentation event for the 2026 MotoGP season. It all took place in Rome, the hometown of riders Fabio Di Giannantonio and Franco Morbidelli. Both are eager to perform well, also because their contracts expire at the end of the year and securing strong results is crucial for their future in the category.

Diggia has a contract with Ducati and will ride a Desmosedici GP26, like the factory duo Marc Marquez–Pecco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez from the BK8 Gresini team. Meanwhile, Morbido will be on a Desmosedici GP25, like Fermin Aldeguer.

Valentino Rossi is the team owner and, while overall satisfied with the progress made in recent years, he expects Di Giannantonio and Morbidelli to deliver a 2026 at a higher level than what was shown in 2025: "This is our fifth season in MotoGP, a great challenge. In our history we’ve always been fairly competitive. In 2025 we finished third in the team standings, the goal is to improve, to raise our level. We’ve had many good results, many podiums, but we want to try to win. We need to work together to improve our performance everywhere, because during last season we had several ups and downs. The goal is to be competitive every weekend, at every circuit."

The last win for the VR46 team in MotoGP dates back to 2023, when Marco Bezzecchi won the Indian Grand Prix race. Rossi is keen to see one of his riders back on the top step of the podium. We’ll see whether Diggia or Morbido ends the drought—not just for the team, but personally as well. Fabio’s last triumph was at the 2023 Qatar GP, while Franky’s goes all the way back to the 2020 Valencia GP.

Since 2025 VR46 has been a Ducati factory-supported team, and attending the event in Rome were also Gigi Dall’Igna, Mauro Grassilli, and Davide Tardozzi. Team manager Pablo Nieto knows it’s an honor and also a great responsibility to have such status: "We thank Ducati; without them this project wouldn’t exist. We have this pressure, because we have the best bike in MotoGP at the moment. And it means the riders are under pressure too. We like having it; it means we can do something important. It will be a tough season, every manufacturer is getting closer and all the riders are fast. But we have great confidence in Di Giannantonio and Morbidelli; we know we can have a fantastic year."

Despite the increased technical support from Ducati, in 2025 it was BK8 Gresini that emerged as the second-best Ducati team in the MotoGP World Championship. Alex Marquez had an outstanding season and rookie Fermin Aldeguer also performed well. Di Giannantonio and Morbidelli are called to respond in 2026. Their continued presence could be at risk; Rossi, Nieto, and “Uccio” Salucci will certainly evaluate results carefully, along with potential alternatives for 2027.