At the Circuit de Barcelona – Catalunya, a stoic Fabio Di Giannantonio claims his maiden victory with the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team in a race that was affected from two red flags. Franco Morbidelli bounces back and he is tenth.
The Catalan GP proved to be very hard, with two race interruptions due to incidents: in the second re-start, Fabio Di Giannantonio was heroic, and he claimed his second MotoGP win, his first one with the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team. Both Fabio and the Team went on the highest step of the podium for the first time in 2026, confirming the Top3 in the World Standing. It was a come back race for Franco Morbidelli, who crossed the finish line in twelfth place, that eventually became tenth because of penalties to other riders.
Di Giannantonio started from the second row and showed a good rhythm since the early stages of the races, that was interrupted for an incident that involved him. Fabio managed to be back on track at the re-start, where he confirmed to be competitive. Despite a second red flag that interrupted his rhythm, the rider from Rome fought with determination since the third start, and he completed the crucial overtake that allowed him to win the race. This is Di Giannantonio’s first win with the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team and his second in MotoGP (Qatar 2023). Now, Fabio is third in the World Standing with 116 points.
It was a complicated race for Morbidelli too, despite starting from the front row. Franco managed to stay in the top positions at the start, but both the first and the second red flag stopped his rhythm. At the third start, the Italian Brazilian rider had a difficult start and he lost some positions. Franco showed a great determination, recovering many positions in the 12-laps raceand he crossed the finish line in twelfth position, that eventually became tenth due to penalties to other riders ahead. Morbidelli is now fifteenth in the World Standing with 36 points.
The Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team wishes a speedy recovery to all the riders involved today’s incidents and wishes to have them back on track soon. The next MotoGP round is scheduled in two weeks and it’s one of the most anticipated events of the season for the Tavullia-based team: the Italian GP, which will take place at the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello from 29th to 31st May. But before, it’s testing day tomorrow at Barcelona.
FABIO DI GIANNANTONIO
“Today, we’ve been all lucky! The first crash was terrifying, so it means a lot to me knowing that everyone is more or less ok, this means that today is a great day for motorsports. After the incident I was involved in, I was feeling well and the team helped me a lot to try to re-start in the best way possible. It’s never easy to come back on track without knowing how the other riders are, but I needed to do a click. Obviously, I am very happy for the win, we’ve been having an amazing performance throughout the weekend, with an excellent preparation. Yesterday, we missed the win, but today we did it. This morning during the Warm Up I was feeling well and we knew that today we would have a great chance. At the re-start, with soft tyre I had less expectations that with the medium, but we managed to do a mega race, so we were in a great shape! I want to thank all the team and the partners for this first win with the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team!”
FRANCO MORBIDELLI
“I am happy this Sunday ended, the incident was terrifying and I hope everyone is ok. Regarding our team, it was a positive Sunday because Diggia won, many congratulations to Fabio! Talking about our garage side, the race didn’t finish I the best way, but we knew that my potential was not that much high to try to attack the top positions. In the first ‘races’ I was there, but at the third start I made a bad start, my bike was jumping and everyone overtook me. From that point, I tried to bring the bike to the finish line in the best position possible. It’s a pity, because we had the potential to be more than twelfth.”
PABLO NIETO
“First of all, I hope that all the riders involved in today’s incidents are okay, because the crashes were terrifying. We hope to have them on track in the next race. Regarding our team, it was an incredible weekend! Yesterday’s third place was amazing. Today, we won the race after all that happened with the two red flags. Fabio was involved in the first incident. But when you have all the adrenaline and that willing to win… we just have to congratulate him because today he made the difference. Congratulations to all the team! With Franco, we made a little step, and it was positive to start from the front row. I think this is the right direction to re-gain confidence. I am convinced that little by little we are back where he deserves.”
