Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali believes the new MotoGP technical regulations for 2027 are aimed at simplifying the series and “preventing Ducati from inventing something strange”.
The 2026 season marks the last under the current technical regulations, an era that has seen Ducati emerge as a clear dominant force. The Borgo Panigale marque began making strides as far back as 2015, and by 2017 Andrea Dovizioso was challenging Marc Marquez for the title. After varying championship winners, including Joan Mir in 2020 (Suzuki) and Fabio Quartararo in 2021 (Yamaha), the Desmosedici GP has indisputably been the strongest bike on the grid in recent years.
The Italian marque has established itself as the benchmark in MotoGP, with four riders’ titles (two for Francesco Bagnaia, one for Jorge Martin, and another for Marc Marquez last year) and six consecutive manufacturers’ crowns.
Lately, Aprilia has at times appeared to challenge that dominance heading into 2026 – a season expected to be transitional – but Ducati still starts as favourite, particularly with nine-time world champion Márquez in its ranks.
However, that situation could change significantly from 2027.
Under next year’s new technical regulations, the engineering teams led by Gigi Dall’Igna, along with those of all other manufacturers, will have to contend with major changes. The rules will introduce three main pillars: a reduction in engine capacity from 1000cc to 850cc, tighter limits on aerodynamic devices, and the elimination of ride-height adjustment systems – areas Ducati has previously pioneered.
Ducati launch
Photo by: Ducati Corse
At the launch of the new Desmosedici GP26 for the 2026 season, Ducati CEO Domenicali discussed the impact of these new rules on MotoGP.
While he reiterated that Ducati’s main goal remains “finding the formula to win in 2027”, he suggested the regulatory reset is also designed to level the playing field.
Domenicali added that from a regulatory and political standpoint there is a push to simplify the rules as much as possible “to prevent Ducati from inventing something strange”. But he also stressed confidence in his team’s creativity.
“What motivates me most is a kind of bet with myself,” Domenicali began, discussing Ducati’s future.
“When we won the first title with Pecco, I said in several interviews that I didn’t want to win just a single championship, but to start a winning cycle of five years – like Michael Schumacher did at Ferrari in Formula 1, where they had an extraordinary era.
“Those five years come to an end [in 2026], and the next challenge now is to achieve a sixth, a seventh, and an eighth year of success. For 2027, the bikes will be completely new, and the competition department, with Gigi Dall’Igna and Davide Barana [technical director], is working hard to put a machine on track that is at the appropriate level.”
Domenicali noted that several technologies Ducati had introduced, particularly rear ride-height adjustment systems, have been removed from the new regulations.
“We were the first to see that there was an opportunity in this area, and we gained an advantage. We had even experimented with a similar situation – a variable rear adjustment – back in 2001 in the World Superbike Championship, so this comes from a long way back. The same goes for wings – we already had them in a reduced size in 2008; if you visit the museum, you’ll see them on a bike ridden by Nicky Hayden.
“But our team is intelligent, so we’ll see if we can find something in some corner of the regulations. In any case, the new machines will be simpler in a certain sense, which means they’ll have fewer possibilities. We’ll have to see who has the best intuitions.”
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– The Autosport.com Team
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