Franco Morbidelli hit with Dutch MotoGP grid penalty after Assen practice incident

Franco Morbidelli has been handed a three-place grid penalty for the Dutch MotoGP after an incident during Friday practice at Assen.

The VR46 Ducati rider was travelling slowly on the racing line at Turn 12 when fellow rider Enea Bastianini was approaching on a fast lap. Bastianini was forced to leave the track and abandon his lap to avoid Morbidelli.

Race stewards immediately investigated the incident. After reviewing what happened, they decided that Morbidelli had ridden too slowly on the racing line and had interfered with another rider.

As a result, Morbidelli will drop three places on the starting grid for Sunday’s Dutch Grand Prix.

The stewards explained that the incident broke MotoGP sporting regulations and directly affected another rider’s attempt to set a competitive lap time. They also noted that it was Morbidelli’s second offence of the season under the championship’s penalty guidelines. Because of this, a grid penalty was considered the correct punishment.

Morbidelli did not argue with the decision. When asked about the penalty after practice, he gave a short response, saying that he had impeded Bastianini and had been penalised for it.

The punishment is another setback for the Italian rider, who narrowly missed automatic qualification for Q2. Morbidelli finished 11th in the practice session, missing a place in the top ten by just 0.026 seconds.

Assen is one of the fastest and most demanding circuits on the MotoGP calendar, making clear track space especially important during qualifying sessions. Riders often have only a small number of laps to secure a place in Q2, so any interruption can have a major effect on their weekend.

The three-place grid drop means Morbidelli will face a tougher challenge in Sunday’s race as he tries to recover positions and fight for a strong result in the Netherlands.