Latest news with #Morbidelli
Straits Times
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Straits Times
Bastianini to return for Czech GP, injured Morbidelli and Vinales out
KTM Tech3's Enea Bastianini will return at this weekend's Czech Grand Prix after recovering from appendicitis but his teammate Maverick Vinales and VR46 Racing's Franco Morbidelli will sit out with injuries, their MotoGP teams said on Wednesday. Bastianini, who joined Tech3 from Ducati last year, missed the entire German Grand Prix weekend after being hospitalised but is expected to return to the track on Friday. "It was really tough for me to remain in bed for so long and unable to join the team at the German Grand Prix, but I gave myself the time to recover properly in order to arrive in Brno in good shape," Bastianini said in a statement. Morbidelli crashed heavily on lap four of the German Grand Prix sprint where the Italian rider was thrown off his bike and sent tumbling across the gravel. He was diagnosed with a severe contusion to the left collarbone and VR46 Racing said he would miss the Czech Grand Prix, with no replacement announced. "Following two days of medical checks, physiotherapy sessions and rest, we decided together with the team to miss this GP at Brno," said Morbidelli, who is fifth in the championship, 205 points behind leader Marc Marquez. "It's always difficult to take decisions like this, but after a heavy crash like the one I had in Sachsenring - and in this moment of the championship before the summer break - it doesn't make any sense to take risks, because the pain is still persistent." Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Over 600 Telegram groups in Singapore selling, advertising vapes removed by HSA Singapore 2 weeks' jail for man caught smuggling over 1,800 vapes and pods into Singapore Singapore Jail for man who fatally hit his daughter, 2, while driving van without licence Singapore Primary 1 registration: 38 primary schools to conduct ballot in Phase 2A Singapore ComfortDelGro to introduce new taxi cancellation, waiting fee policy Singapore Here comes the sun: Less rain, more warm days in second half of July Singapore Instead of overcomplicating COE system, Govt has ensured affordable transport for all: SM Lee to Jamus Lim Singapore Baby died after mum took abortion pills and gave birth in toilet; coroner records an open verdict Spaniard Vinales underwent surgery on Sunday for a fractured left shoulder after he suffered a highside crash in qualifying, paving the way for compatriot Pol Espargaro to make his return with Tech3, a team he debuted with in MotoGP back in 2014. "It's been a long time since our last visit to Brno, which is a fantastic track," said Espargaro, who has not raced in MotoGP for nearly a year after featuring as a wildcard for KTM last season. "The last time we raced here I felt super-good in my best period with KTM so let's see how it is with the new surface." The Czech Grand Prix will also mark the return of Aprilia's Jorge Martin after the reigning MotoGP champion recovered from injuries he suffered in a crash at the Qatar Grand Prix in April. REUTERS
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Rubbing elbows at 200 mph: See the dramatic dogfight at MotoGP Aragon GP
One of the major talking points of the Aragon Grand Prix was the dramatic dogfight between Franco Morbidelli and Fermin Aldeguer. The pair sparred over several laps, even having contact on the back straight during their attempts to gain track position. These professionals weren't racing for the lead — this was for 5th, and it was epic. Morbidelli described what was happening mentally in the heat of the moment. Advertisement "Pure adrenaline was going through my head," said Morbidelli. "You could spill it in a shot, I could make you an adrenaline drink at that moment of the race! "It was a sketchy race. I was struggling big time. Especially in the first half of the race I wasn't feeling comfortable looks like this weekend we improved the new tyre on one lap but actually in the beginning of the race. I wasn't having the potential I was expecting, I wasn't having the feeling I was expecting and I risked crashing three times, two bigs ones. One in turn 9 and another in turn 10 so I'm really happy that I was able to bring the bike home even more in P5 because in the end I found myself fighting for P5 with Fermin. "It was a really nice battle, he had great potential at the end and I'm pleased that I could get the best of him but he was really strong. It felt similar to Marc [Marquez] battle at Silverstone, the difference is that with Marc I couldn't beat him. This time with Fermin I could, but he was really strong." When asked if there had been more problems compared to Saturday's sprint race where he finished fourth, Morbidelli claimed nothing had changed. Advertisement "Yesterday was the same," said Morbidelli. "At the beginning of the race, I was struggling big time. We were all expecting something better from yesterday's race and today's race but somehow I couldn't have a good speed in the beginning of the race. Today I was risking big time and I almost crashed three times so I said it's better to bring it home." Read Also: MotoGP Aragon GP: Marc Marquez fights back for sprint victory Pedro Acosta: Pecco Bagnaia 'a super gentleman' during battle for podium "Fake posts of me in blue leathers': Francesco Bagnaia dismisses recent MotoGP rumors Advertisement To read more articles visit our website.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Franco Morbidelli slams Aleix Espargaro after "unfair" Silverstone MotoGP crash
In the opening lap of MotoGP's British Grand Prix at Silverstone, Aleix Espargaro and Franco Morbidelli came together in an incident that led Espargaro to retire from the GP. Time has done little to cool tempers, and Morbidelli says he 'could've been much harsher' in his criticism of the Honda rider. It happened early, during the first lap of the initial start, when the Italian and the Spaniard found themselves toward the back of the pack after Morbidelli botched his getaway from tenth on the grid. Advertisement There, the Honda test rider lost control of his prototype and ended up colliding with the VR46 rider. Fortunately for Morbidelli, oil that spilled from his own Ducati led the marshals to wave the red flag and this allowed him to hop onto his second bike and rejoin the British GP. A fourth-place finish for Morbidelli brought some consolation but did little to erase what had happened with Espargaro – whom Morbidelli even accused of having something personal against him. The Catalan rider responded directly in a social media post, using sarcasm to make it clear that, obviously, crashing and taking Morbidelli out had not been part of his plan. Aleix Espargaro, HRC Test Team Aleix Espargaro, HRC Test Team Honda Racing Honda Racing Advertisement In Aragon, ten days after that heated exchange, the Italian didn't backtrack and instead doubled down on his stance. Morbidelli argued that, in his view, the incident exposed the poor conduct of the Spanish rider. 'I hate hearing that I was being harsh, because I could've been much harsher. The time that's passed hasn't changed my perspective one bit,' Morbidelli said, before detailing the reasons why, in his opinion, the older Espargaró brother should rethink how he approaches race weekends now that he is no longer a full-time rider. 'What happened to me on Sunday at Silverstone was unfair. That's not how a test rider should behave when racing against someone who's fighting for important points. That's regardless of whether Aleix made a mistake — which he did,' Morbidelli added. 'That mistake says a lot. First, it means a test rider isn't fulfilling his main role: gathering data for the factory. Even more so if, like in his case, he spends the whole weekend riding two seconds off the pace, only to crash on the first lap. Advertisement 'And I had to pay the price for all that with a fractured foot. That's why I could've gone much harder on him. But I simply said it seems like he's got something against me—because we've had our clashes in the past.' Despite the incident, which fractured the talus bone in his left foot, Morbidelli hailed his "amazing" recovery in the race. The Italian fought back to finish fourth on the road and, in the final laps of the race, even battled fiercely with championship leader Marc Marquez. The Spaniard ultimately came out on top and took the final podium spot. Read Also: Franco Morbidelli hails "amazing" recovery to fourth in MotoGP British GP MotoGP British GP: Marco Bezzecchi takes surprise win for Aprilia Advertisement 'If I try to see the bright side of what happened, it's also true that I had a terrible start, which put me in that situation – and that led to the red flag, which in turn allowed me to restart with my second bike and finish fourth,' Morbidelli said. 'I don't know if, starting that far back, I would've been able to run that kind of race.' To read more articles visit our website.
