Ducati pays the price: the Marquez effect amid injuries, an exodus of champions, and a 2027 that looks bright

Ducati is experiencing a particularly difficult MotoGP season. The Desmosedici GP is no longer the invincible bike it proved to be until a few months ago. During the winter break, Aprilia made a technical overtake, thanks above all to new aerodynamics solutions. But did the bosses in Borgo Panigale perhaps make a few missteps to find themselves in this situation?

Marc Marquez is an “uncomfortable” rider in any garage he enters. At Honda he immediately overshadowed Dani Pedrosa first, then Jorge Lorenzo, drawing the engineers’ maximum attention and influencing the bike’s development. The rider from Cervera becomes the epicenter of every project he’s involved in, earning space with results and world titles. It’s a normal context; in motorsport it always happens this way when you’re dealing with absolute superstars. Think of Max Verstappen: it’s a given that all Red Bull’s efforts revolve around number 1. But in Ducati’s case, the series of injuries to Marc Marquez triggered by the crash with Bezzecchi last November in Indonesia set off a significant side effect. In his absence he leaves a bike that his teammates can’t push to the limit, and victories become a mirage. It happened at HRC, which plunged into a deep crisis after the Jerez crash in 2020 that kept Marc Marquez out for a long time—and the Japanese manufacturer has yet to recover.

In the summer of 2023, the phenomenon from Cervera decided to leave the Japanese brand to hop on the Ducati, the bike of the moment, to rediscover the path to victory. He races his first season on the non-factory Gresini Desmosedici, earns a seat in the factory team for 2025, and at the first attempt in red he lays his hands on the seventh MotoGP title of his career, returning to be the outright dominator. In doing so, he also overshadowed his colleague Pecco Bagnaia (a two-time world champion) and shifted the center of gravity of the bike’s evolution toward himself. It couldn’t have been otherwise. With the arrival in the official team of the most successful rider of this era, even the possible renewal of Jorge Martin ceased to be a priority. So much so that the ’24 champion was forced, reluctantly, to find a seat at Aprilia.

Having come in almost on tiptoes, MM93 quickly became the master of the red garage. So much so that he became Gigi Dall’Igna’s protégé, who would even like him to be a Ducati ambassador at the end of his career. Again, this is all normal: engineers always fall in love with such special riders. For Ducati’s number one in racing, winning with Marquez is more gratifying than with anyone else: a special bike ridden by a special rider—this is not only Dall’Igna’s goal, but that of all engineers. In the paddock it’s common talk that by betting everything (or almost) on Marc Marquez, Ducati left Jorge Martin, Pecco Bagnaia (Aprilia ’27), as well as Alex Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio by the wayside—those two will be at KTM in a year. When signing the 25–26 two-year deal, the Italian brand could not have imagined that Marc Marquez would suffer another accident with serious consequences. But it can’t be called a reckless move: in the meantime, in 2025 he swept MotoGP, and to protect itself from any further uncertainties, Ducati secured Pedro Acosta, a two-time lower-class world champion widely seen as Marquez’s heir.

At this point Ducati finds itself with a superstar in the box, but injured again, and coming off a long medical ordeal. There are many doubts about his return timetable and whether we will ever see him back to his best. In his absence the GP26 looks like just another bike, unable to fight for the win. Alex Marquez’s first place at Jerez seems like a flash in the pan, Pecco has been in crisis for over a year, and Diggia is currently the most consistent—but that’s not enough to climb onto the top step of the podium. In the short-term future there is Pedro Acosta. Will the Shark of Mazarrón also risk being “devoured” by the all-consuming giant that is Marc Marquez? It’s an acceptable risk, because it would mean the superstar has returned to winning ways. Otherwise, Acosta will be the alternative. Now, between a glorious past and a promising future, there’s a 2026 season to save.

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