Franco Morbidelli is aiming to return to action at France’s MotoGP this weekend, but the VR46 Ducati rider will need to undergo a mandatory medical check-up at Le Mans on Thursday after a violent clash at the Spanish Grand Prix.
“I feel better, but I want to see how I feel on my bike. I look forward to running a clean work program and having two races at their best,” he said.
Morbidelli was stretched out from his second severe fall over the weekend and was later diagnosed with “neck consy” and ruled out him from Monday’s official post-race test.
The incident also ended with a perfect 2025 run point finish for Morbidelli, leaving Alex Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia as the only riders to score in all 10 races so far this season.
Despite DNF, Morbidelli remains fourth in World Championship standings, but his advantage over teammate Fabio Di Giannantonio narrowed to 21 points.
“Le Mans is another very important race for us. We are looking to continue to have great pace and speed, so our goal is to do a really good job there,” Morbidelli said.
“I like tracks. I made a lovely comeback (the seventh) in the main race last year, so I’m sure I’m watching the track.”
Fabio di Giannantonio
While Morbidelli was on the sidelines, Di Giannantonio joined Bagnaia and Marc Marquez to evaluate factory GP25 updates during Jerez testing.
“Le Mans is a beautiful historic truck, it goes fast and has lots of brakes. I think we can already use the solutions we found in the Jerez test,” Diannantonio said.
“So I’m curious to see what happens with bike updates. In Le Mans, we fought for the podium last year. And then there’s a lot of fans and a lot of energy.
Ducati has been undefeated at Le Mans for the past five years, with independent riders winning the last three years. Gresini’s Enia Bastianini in 2022, VR46’s Marco Betzecchi in 2023, and Pramac’s Jorge Martin in 2024.