Twelfth in practice, thirteenth in qualifying, fourteenth in the Sprint, and eleventh in the Grand Prix: MotoGP rider Franco Morbidelli struggled through Qatar 2026 without ever finding his rhythm. A year earlier, on the same circuit, he was fastest on Friday and finished on the podium twice. In between, a season comes to an end, his last in MotoGP before moving to Superbike…
2025/2026, two machines, two Morbidellis?
The technical gap is probably not the main theme of the Qatari weekend. Where Fabio DiGiannantonio has a GP26, the latest generation Ducati, Franco Morbidelli must contend with a GP25, the previous year's specification. But that was already the case last year.
Last Sunday, at the finish of the main race, the two men were separated by nearly five seconds: 15.517 for the Roman, 20.275 for the Italian-Brazilian. His team manager, Paul GrandsonHe readily agrees: “Franco and I suffered throughout the weekend, but we worked as hard as possible to keep improving. The Lusail circuit is never easy.”
Friday had started in a frustrating but close fashion: ninth in FP1, a good portion of Practice in the top 10, then a final twelfth place just 75 thousandths of a second away from direct qualification for Q2. "It was a good day overall. Unfortunately, I missed Q2 by 75 thousandths of a second and I regret it ," confided number 21, already pointing to the source of the problem: "I lose a lot of time in the last sector because I struggle in the last two corners."
On Saturday, the verdict was in: thirteenth in Q1 with a time of 1'51"271, meaning a fifth-row start that would determine everything else. In the Sprint, marked by the red flag following Pecco Bagnaia 's violent crash on the first lap, he lost two positions at the restart and had to fight his way back from fifteenth to snatch fourteenth, 12.874 seconds behind Marc Márquez . "It was a difficult Sprint, I was behind another rider, but I wasn't fast enough to overtake him. I'm struggling to find the speed I want ," he admitted.
Sunday offered a slightly more favorable scenario without fundamentally changing the atmosphere. After a poor start, relegated to the back of the pack at the first corner, he recovered five positions over the course of 22 laps and secured eleventh place out of 14 riders who crossed the finish line, thanks in particular to an overtake in the final corner, 20.275 seconds behind Marco Bezzecchi . "We had the pace to be close to our objective, and that's positive ," he noted.
2025 vs. 2026: the same track in Qatar, Morbidelli a different MotoGP rider
| Qatar 2025 | Qatar 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Trials | 1st (1'50″830) | 12e |
| Qualification | Q2, 4th | Q1, 13th |
| Sprint | 3th (+3″988) | 14th (+12″874) |
| Course | 3th (+6″495) | 11th (+20″275) |
In April 2025, Franco Morbidelli set the best time in Practice under the lights, in 1'50″830, ahead of Francesco Bagnaia (145 thousandths) and Marc Márquez (167 thousandths), nearly breaking the track record.
The following day, he climbed onto the third step of the Sprint podium in 20'42"292, under pressure from Fabio Quartararo and Fermín Aldeguer.
On Sunday, he took the lead in the Grand Prix after the contact between the brothers Márquez at the first corner, led until the eleventh lap, then dropped back as the cars were overtaken: fourth at the finish line, promoted to third by the 16-second penalty imposed on Maverick Vinales for tire pressure.
His first double podium in MotoGP. "During the race, I felt very strong."he said then, welcoming the presence of Valentino Rossi on the low wall: "We deserved this podium finish and Valentino's presence was fundamental."
At least three factors can shed light on the shift.
The first is the machine: in 2025, his GP24, known to be less temperamental than the GP25, allowed him to dominate on Friday and compete for a podium finish on Sunday; in 2026, he is on the 2025…
The second is the timing of the season. Qatar 2025 was the fourth round of a season in which he would string together podium finishes, a momentum that earned him a contract extension for 2026. Qatar 2026 arrives at the twentieth round of a year in which he has never regained this level.
Finally, " OK "wasn't there, being cautious in a difficult context…"
Nine seasons of MotoGP, then Superbike after 2026
This weekend held particular significance in the context of his career. In 2027, Franco Morbidelli will leave MotoGP for the Superbike World Championship, joining the official Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team, where he will partner with Iker Lecuona . He will take the place of Nicolò Bulega , who will make the opposite move, joining MotoGP with VR46.
This transfer will close a nine-season career in the premier category, but remaining within the Ducati structure, whose colors he already defends at VR46, is a continuity that certainly counts when approaching a change of discipline.
There are two rounds left to finish differently: his sixteenth place in the championship with 70 points leaves him within reach of several drivers, including Johann Zarco (63 points) which he leads by a short head. The overseas tour ends on this mixed impression; MotoGP observes a week's break before the Portuguese Grand Prix, from November 20 to 22 at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, then the final in Valencia, two events to finish on a note more in line with what he expected from his last season in MotoGP.
Come on " Franky ", give us a treat for the last few!
Results of the 2026 Qatar Grand Prix :
Ranking credit: MotoGP.com
MotoGP Qatar Morbidelli 2026 MotoGP Qatar Morbidelli 2026 MotoGP Qatar Morbidelli 2026
