Ducati has admitted it is no longer MotoGP’s benchmark manufacturer, but insists it still has a chance of overhauling Aprilia and continuing its title-winning run.
Marco Bezzecchi’s victory at last weekend’s United States Grand Prix reinforced the belief that Aprilia now has the best bike in MotoGP.
Although the Noale factory had already emerged as a regular winner in the second half of last season, several factors suggested Ducati might still retain an edge over its rivals. Marc Marquez was crucially absent from the final leg of 2025, while Aprilia’s victories in the opening two rounds of 2026 at Buriram and Goiania also carried an asterisk, with Michelin having brought special rear tyres to those races.
But with Bezzecchi again dominating under more conventional conditions at Austin, even Ducati has now conceded that the balance of power has shifted in Aprilia’s favour.
Ducati team manager Davide Tardozzi believes the Borgo Panigale marque has been outdeveloped by Aprilia over the last 12 months, leaving its riders playing “catch-up” in races.
“Aprilia has improved significantly,” Tardozzi told Sky Italy. “I looked at last year’s data and this year’s data, and it’s clear that Aprilia has made a remarkable leap in performance of seven- to eight-tenths of a second.
“I evaluated the two Aprilia riders from last year and this year: [Ai] Ogura and Bezzecchi. Bezzecchi had a pace that was about 0.7s faster, and Ogura was 0.8s faster.
“We’ve improved by 0.1–0.2s, so clearly Aprilia’s growth is impressive. They have strong riders, just like we do, but right now we’re playing catch-up a bit.
“It’s clear that we expect something from the engineers. I believe Gigi is the first one who isn’t happy with this situation, so I’m certain we’ll work on it, and I hope we can bring something to Jerez already.
“There are still 19 races left; nothing is lost, even if it seems like we’re falling behind right now.”
Marc Marquez, Ducati Team, Jorge Martin, Aprilia Racing Team, Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia Racing
Photo by: MotoGP Sports Entertainment Group
After the opening three races, Aprilia has a commanding lead in all three championships, while Ducati is having to fend off KTM for second position.
Fabio di Giannantonio is Ducati’s best representative in the riders’ standings, trailing not only factory Aprilia duo Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin but also KTM’s Pedro Acosta.
In the teams’ standings, Ducati sits a distant fourth, behind Aprilia, Trackhouse and KTM.
Ducati does have an edge over KTM in the constructors’ table, but it is already facing a 32-point deficit to Aprilia, which has also claimed one sprint win in addition to its three grand prix victories.
Ducati’s campaign has been compromised by the physical condition of its star rider Marquez, who is yet to make a full recovery from his Indonesia injuries. Fermin Aldeguer also missed a race due to a training accident, while some incidents out of Ducati’s control – such as a tyre blow-out in Thailand – have also cost the manufacturer some vital points.
“It’s up to us to improve”
Tardozzi remains confident that Ducati can still fight back in the championship, but warned that the outfit has to do more to ensure the riders have the best package possible.
“I’ll continue to tip my hat to Aprilia because they’ve made a significant technical leap,” he said.
“I believe we have a chance to catch up in the championship. We’re at the third race; there have been some unlucky incidents, but beyond that, we need to be a bit more careful in our management, in really understanding what the riders need.
“I think there have been situations that prevented the riders from performing at their best, so it’s up to us to try to improve, and certainly Aldeguer and Marc aren’t in top form.”
Marc Marquez, Ducati Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images
Marquez endured a tough race at the Circuit of The Americas last weekend, finishing a distant fifth after serving a long-lap penalty early in the race. Given his previous track record at Austin, his lack of speed led to fresh concerns about his health and the time he needed to recover his form.
While acknowledging Marquez isn’t fully fit, Tardozzi highlighted how the seven-time world champion still showed flashes of pace at Austin.
“In my opinion, the analysis is that Marc isn’t 100% fit,” he said.
“I’ll focus on the middle part of the [Austin] race, when he overtook Raul Fernandez and Closed in on Pecco [Bagnaia] and Enea [Bastianini]. Over those five or six laps, he gained eight-tenths of a second on Bezzecchi.
“So, when he’s in good form, he’s capable of riding like a number one rider for a portion of the race.”
We want to hear from you!
Let us know what you would like to see from us in the future.
Take our survey
– The Autosport.com Team
Read the full article here
