The Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team secures two points in the Sprint of the Thailand GP thanks to Fabio Di Giannantonio’s eighth-place. Franco Morbidelli is fourteenth.
The Sprint of the Thailand GP kicked off the 2026 MotoGP season, and the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team showed solid performance despite a challenging race. Fabio Di Giannantonio claimed his first two championship points with a comeback ride to eighth place, while Franco Morbidelli crossed the line in fourteenth position.
After a strong qualifying session, Di Giannantonio started from the fourth position on the grid (1’28”918). With an excellent start, Fabio immediately joined the fight for the Top3, but a contact in the early stages of the race dropped him in the back group, forcing him to set a comeback. The rider from Rome showed a strong pace, managing to cross the Sprint finish line in eighth position and scoring his first points of the year. Di Giannantonio heads into Sunday’s race eighth in the World Standings.
It was a more complicated Sprint for Morbidelli, who started from the third row (1’29”321) after progressing through Q1 in a solid qualifying performance. The very high temperatures in the pack battle affected Franco’s Sprint, but he defended well and managed to bring his bike to the finish line with great determination. The Italian-Brazilian rider ended the first Sprint of the year in fourteenth place, holding the same position in the World Standings.
The Thailand Grand Prix, which opens the 2026 MotoGP season, will conclude tomorrow with the main race, scheduled to start at 3:00 pm local time (+6 CET).
FABIO DI GIANNANTONIO
“We’ve had a great weekend so far. I feel strong, we had a good Qualifying and we also showed an excellent pace. In the Sprint, in the first corners I was in my position, I braked on my line, but I heard the noise of another rider coming towards me. I had to pick the bike up to avoid a crash, and we went wide. During the race, even though we were in the back group with a lot of heat, I was very fast and managed to fight back. I was quicker than the riders with me. It’s difficult to do more in the Sprint because it’s shorter and it was really very hot. But we have a great package and huge potential, I’m convinced we can put on a great show tomorrow, because now it’s not enough for me to have a good race, I want more. The Sprint is behind us, we’re already thinking about Sunday and the goal will be to enjoy it and do well.”
FRANCO MORBIDELLI
“It was a half-positive Saturday, because this morning in Qualifying we managed to do a great time attack to get through Q1, and we know how complicated that is. With that lap time, we would have started from the second row. About the Sprint, I didn’t make a good start, I had many bikes in front of me and the temperature was extremely high. I couldn’t brake the way I wanted. It’s not ideal, but I managed to ride in the 1’31”. It was interesting to watch. But when it’s like that, it becomes impossible to ride, so the goal was to bring the bike to the finish line. For tomorrow, with this heat it will be complicated, but we will give our maximum.”
