VR46 Ducati MotoGP rider Franco Morbidelli says his warnings of harsher penalties was ‘not an excuse’ for him ending behind team-mate Fabio Di Giannantonio within the Misano dash.
Forward of this weekend’s San Marino Grand Prix, the three-time race winner was given an ultimatum by the FIM stewards to scrub up his act or face extra extreme punishments.
If Franco Morbidelli is deemed at fault for an incident involving one other rider from this weekend onwards, he will probably be hit with a ride-through penalty.
If he repeats this offence once more, he faces a race ban. This comes after a spate of incidents in 2025 for the Italian.
Earlier within the Misano weekend, Morbidelli stated he must change his method in races to be much less aggressive and labelled this an “benefit” for his rivals.
In Saturday’s dash at Misano, Morbidelli ran line astern with team-mate Fabio Di Giannantonio within the battle for third however didn’t put a transfer on him.
He says this was right down to an absence of tempo, nevertheless, moderately than wariness of his penalty scenario.
“No, he was higher,” he replied when requested if he was unable to advance on fourth as a result of he was being too cautious.
“He simply made a mistake on one lap, however I used to be a bit too far to use that mistake. That’s it.
“I felt actually good, feeling actually comfy with the bike. I’ve a great feeling on it. There are issues to regulate, however the feeling could be very good.
“Yeah, the monitor was completely different in the present day. Some areas there was much less grip than yesterday, extra pushing. And a few areas had been like yesterday.
“I couldn’t do way more. I couldn’t actually do way more. I wouldn’t use this as an excuse to not assault DiGia.”
Morbidelli will go from fifth on the grid in Sunday’s San Marino Grand Prix, with Di Giannantonio beginning seventh.
