Davide Tardozzi, the Ducati MotoGP team principal, has announced that Franco Morbidelli will be joining Fabio di Giannantonio at the factory-supported VR46 team for the upcoming season.
While an official announcement from Valentino Rossi’s team is still pending, Tardozzi seems to have prematurely disclosed VR46’s roster for 2025.
He also stated that the VR46 team will only receive one GP25 motorcycle, which will be allocated to di Giannantonio, the 2023 Qatar GP victor, while Morbidelli will keep competing on the GP24 that he currently uses with Pramac.
“Next year, di Giannantonio will be on a GP25 and Morbidelli will ride a GP24,” Tardozzi mentioned in a television interview during Friday’s practice session for the British Grand Prix.
Upon learning of Tardozzi’s slip-up, VR46 team principal Uccio Salucci approached him during practice to discuss the situation directly.
Their unexpected meeting was captured by television cameras, indicating Salucci’s displeasure with Tardozzi’s untimely disclosure of the team lineup.
This tension between VR46 and Ducati occurred shortly after both parties announced a deepening of their partnership starting in 2025, as the Italian team gets set to replace Pramac as Ducati’s top satellite team.
Fabio Di Giannantonio, VR46 Racing Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
With the details of Morbidelli and di Giannantonio now publicly known, an official announcement from VR46 is expected in the near future.
This season, di Giannantonio has significantly improved, surpassing his teammate Marco Bezzecchi, who has secured a position with the factory Aprilia team next year, alongside current Pramac rider Jorge Martin.
He will be among only three riders to have access to the latest machinery from Ducati, joining Francesco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez from the official team.
On the other hand, Morbidelli, who has been under Rossi’s mentorship and is familiar to the VR46 team from his past in the lower classes, will transition to VR46.
Given Pramac’s collaboration with Yamaha for next season, racing the M1—on which he has faced challenges in recent years—was never a viable option for him, making his move to VR46 a clear choice.
Having been the title runner-up in 2020, he now seeks refuge at VR46, despite needing to adapt to a year-old Desmosedici.
