A little help for Ducati on the horizon? It will get concessions if it doesn’t score 253 points in eight races

The MotoGP World Championship lands on the European continent for the fourth round of the season, after the stops in Thailand, Brazil, and the USA. Ducati is called to turn things around after a not-so-easy start, with Marc Márquez having won only three times on the Andalusian circuit. If the trend doesn’t change, the Borgo Panigale manufacturer could enter the concessions regime, taking advantage of the regulatory mechanism designed precisely to curb the Red’s dominance.

Ducati and Marc Márquez are attempting a counteroffensive after Aprilia’s sprint start, with victories in the first three Grands Prix. The champion’s injury is proving to be an obstacle in the fight for the podium, combined with a Desmosedici GP26 that is not yet at its best technically. The roughly one-month break in the MotoGP calendar, due to the cancellation of the Qatar GP, should have played in favor of the Cervera rider, who was not at his best in the first part of the Championship. But against an RS-GP in a state of grace, only Marc seems to have the right tools to challenge the rivals’ leadership.

Against Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin, an impeccable performance is needed to lift the mood in the Red garage and close the gap in the overall standings. Otherwise, at this pace, Ducati could benefit from the advantages of concessions. Fabio Di Giannantonio of the VR46 team is currently the brand’s best-placed rider, fourth in the standings with 50 points. However, the Italian is only five points behind the reigning world champion Marc Márquez, who has scored 45 points in the first three Grands Prix of the season.

In the teams’ championship, Lenovo Ducati sits in fourth place, behind Trackhouse Aprilia, with 70 points. In the constructors’ championship, it is surpassed only by Aprilia, albeit by a considerable margin. While the Noale team has accumulated 101 points, the Borgo Panigale outfit has collected only 69. Very different numbers compared to the 2025 MotoGP season, when the Emilian manufacturer dominated all three standings, ultimately claiming the Triple Crown.

Marc Márquez’s injury in Indonesia showed that the excellent results of the Cervera phenomenon were somewhat masking the Desmosedici’s shortcomings, difficulties clearly evident in the performances of Pecco Bagnaia and ‘Diggia’. If this trend continues, Ducati could receive the first concessions mid-season.

This system, introduced in the 2024 season, was created precisely to limit Ducati’s dominance, allowing other manufacturers to close the gap. Since then, the Italian brand has remained in Group A, the highest in the system. Aprilia and KTM, on the other hand, are in Group B. Honda moved to Group C at the end of last season, while Yamaha remains in Group D.

Midway through this season, MotoGP will reassess the scoring system, taking into account the results obtained from the end of 2025 and the beginning of 2026. To avoid relegation, Ducati must score at least 85% of the points starting from the Austrian Grand Prix. Therefore, out of a maximum of 777 points, the men in red must accumulate 660.45. So far, they have totaled only 407.

Therefore, the team has eight race weekends ahead to try to secure 253 points, averaging 31.6 points per race. In the first three Grands Prix held so far, the average has been only 23 points. However, MotoGP’s arrival in Europe could change the trend. And the Jerez Grand Prix will be an initial testing ground to redirect this uphill season.