Valentino Rossi prodigy set to be major casualty of MotoGP silly season

Only two riders have valid contracts for next season - Marc Marquez at Ducati and Johann Zarco at LCR Honda.

Things are falling into place in the other 20 spots, but without official confirmation, and yet it's Morbidelli’s departure from VR46 Racing and the sport that looks more certain than most of the arrivals and rider swaps.

At VR46, former Valentino Rossi prodigy Nicolo Bulega is looking certain to return, having completely obliterated his opponents in WorldSBK with 21 wins out of 21.

Asked about returning to MotoGP, where he competed in two Grand Prix, he told the media at Misano on Friday:

"I have some news, but I can’t say anything. Anyway, we’re working, and right now I feel support from Ducati. For me, it’s very important to feel them close, because I sense they still believe in me, even beyond Superbike, and that gives me a boost. It’s too early to say much, but I’ve always said that my dream is to go to MotoGP and I hope I can make it."

Reports from motorsport.com claim that in the other seat, Fermin Aldeguer has agreed terms for 2027, while Fabio di Giannantonio will head to KTM’s factory team, leaving Morbidelli quickly running out of options.

Now Corse di Moto corroborate those claims, saying Morbidelli will leave VR46, and most likely the sport.

Morbidelli was the first-ever member of the VR46 Academy, perhaps making his departure from the eponymous team full circle after nine years in MotoGP.

A Moto2 champion in 2017, the Italian-Brazilian talent’s best top-flight season came in 2020 when he finished as a runner-up to Joan Mir, missing out on the title by 13 points while aboard a Yamaha.

Morbidelli lost that factory seat at the end of 2023 and has since been racing with Ducati. In 2026, he’s their lowest-placed rider in the standings in 14th, while teammate Di Giannantonio is third and competing for the title.

Having only finished a place behind his teammate in last season’s standings, there have been some positives this year, qualifying second in Barcelona, and finishing third in the Jerez sprint.

Yet in a silly season with so much movement, form is everything, and Morbidelli’s isn’t up to the level. Asked to sum up his season during a recent press conference, he was honest:

“Not in a great way, not in a positive way. We struggled quite a lot. I'm not achieving the results I want to achieve. I'm not having the feeling I would like to have on the bike.

"The feeling on the bike is not the same as last year or two years ago. I'm struggling with many things. I'm also struggling with the starts in the race.”

“But I have to say that since Austin, we changed our way of working. We accepted the fact that I'm not going to have the same feeling of last year or the 2024 feeling. So, we accepted that and we started maximising what we have, and things went better and better. And especially in practice, we are seeing good stuff, and that's positive.

“I do feel that if my feeling was the one I want and I would like to have, I definitely feel we would be up there, like we were last year, when my feeling still wasn't perfect, but we were still able to fight for top position.

"Last year, we were dealing with minor issues or issues that allow you to go from P3 to P1.

This year, we are struggling with major issues and therefore we are fighting for the top 10. And if we manage to do a top 10 with these kinds of issues, it's a great result for me.”

Yet despite some positivity, questions about superbikes have summed up where Morbidelli’s current situation is heading. Asked about his future, he was still determined to stick around:

"I’m a rider. I love racing. I haven’t finished my job here yet. I think my goal changed a bit after the first three years in MotoGP. I was aiming to win the championship and I came very close after two years, in 2020. Then I had some problems and I wasn’t able to get closer to my goal. So my goal changed a bit.

"Now the priority is to get back to winning races. It will be crucial to start winning races again before thinking about winning a championship. At the moment I’m still far from that goal."

That goal of winning will likely be closer if Morbidelli does make the switch to WorldSBK, but for one of the most recognisable faces of Rossi’s VR46 project, it’s a departure that will leave many in the paddock thinking ‘what if?’