Franco Morbidelli · Biography

In 2016 Franco Morbidelli left Italtrans Racing Team, with whom he had raced two full Moto2 seasons, and signed for Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS. The move reshaped his career: in his first year with the Belgian outfit he collected eight podiums, and in his second he became Moto2 world champion. He was born in Rome on 4 December 1994 to an Italian father and a Brazilian mother. A road racer, he has competed in MotoGP since 2018, winning three grands prix in the premier class and finishing runner-up in the 2020 world championship.

From Rome to Tavullia

His father, Livio Morbidelli, had raced in the Italian national championship, finishing runner-up in the 80cc and 125cc classes. The family moved from Rome to Tavullia to support Franco’s racing, and there he began training with Valentino Rossi’s group. Those sessions were the forerunner of the VR46 Riders Academy, of which he became the first official member. He had been due to race in the Spanish 125cc championship, but a lack of funding sent him to the European Superstock 600 series in 2011. He finished 17th that year on a Yamaha and sixth in 2012. His father died in January 2013. That same year, riding a Kawasaki for San Carlo Team Italia, he won the European Superstock 600 Championship with two wins, six podiums and 154 points.

First steps in Moto2

He made his Moto2 world championship debut in 2013 as a wild card for the Gresini team on a Suter, in three races without scoring: he finished 20th, 18th and 17th. His first full season came in 2014 on a Kalex for Italtrans Racing Team, and he ended the year 11th with 75 points. In 2015, with the same team, he was 10th on 90 points and took his first podium with third place at the Indianapolis Grand Prix. The switch to Marc VDS in 2016 put him among the front-runners: fourth in the standings with 213 points and eight podiums, though still without a win.

Moto2 world champion in 2017

In 2017 he opened the year by winning the Qatar Grand Prix on the Marc VDS Kalex. He went on to take eight victories and twelve podiums, and sealed the title at the Malaysian Grand Prix after his rival, Switzerland’s Thomas Lüthi, was declared unfit following a crash in qualifying. He finished on 308 points. His Moto2 career added up to 71 starts, 8 wins, 21 podiums, 6 poles and 13 fastest laps.

MotoGP with Honda and Petronas Yamaha

In 2018 he stepped up to MotoGP with the same team, Marc VDS, on a Honda RC213V. He finished 15th with 50 points and was named rookie of the year. In 2019 he joined Petronas Yamaha SRT and ended the season 10th on 115 points. It was with that team that his premier-class wins arrived: he won the San Marino Grand Prix at Misano in September 2020, the Teruel Grand Prix in October, setting a new lap record there, and the Valencian Community Grand Prix in November, starting from pole and holding off Jack Miller on the final lap. He finished runner-up in the 2020 world championship with 158 points, 13 behind Joan Mir.

With the factory Yamaha team

In 2021 a knee injury suffered in a training accident after the German Grand Prix forced him to miss several races. He contested the first eight rounds with Petronas and, from Misano onwards, moved up to the factory Monster Energy Yamaha squad. He ended that year 17th with 47 points. In 2022 he partnered Fabio Quartararo in the works team and finished 19th with 42 points. In 2023 he climbed to 13th, with 102 points.

With Ducati: Pramac and VR46

In 2024 he switched manufacturers and joined Prima Pramac Racing on a Ducati. In late January that year he crashed while training on a Panigale V4 at Portimão, an accident that kept him out of the preseason tests at Sepang and Qatar. He took his first sprint race podium at the San Marino Grand Prix and finished the championship ninth with 173 points. In 2025 he moved to Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team, Valentino Rossi’s squad, again on a Ducati Desmosedici. He finished third at the Argentine and Qatar grands prix and closed the 2025 world championship in seventh place with 231 points.