Ducati Under Scrutiny, Dall'Igna: "We're Not Looking for Excuses

Marc Marquez and Ducati remain in the spotlight, despite the MotoGP '26 season getting off to a rocky start. After clinching the world title, the nine-time world champion seems to be struggling on the Desmosedici, hindered by bad luck and less-than-perfect physical condition. In Jerez, he will take to the track to try to reverse the trend and return to winning ways.

There is great anticipation for the MotoGP restart after the cancellation of the Qatar round. The action resumes with the Spanish Grand Prix, fertile ground for Marc Marquez, who has won here three times (2014, 2018, and 2019). He arrives with some doubts about his physical condition, but the weeks off should work in his favor. Optimism is growing in Borgo Panigale: "I see him well. I think he’ll already be at 100% in Jerez," confessed Gigi Dall'Igna, CEO of Ducati Corse. A clear response to the rumors that have circulated in recent times, suggesting the Cervera superstar was already on the wane.

2026 started on the wrong foot after he continued to pay the price for that crash caused by Marco Bezzecchi in Indonesia last MotoGP season. On the other side of the garage, however, there’s a Pecco Bagnaia who continues to struggle and may already have his mind on Aprilia. "Marc suffered a serious injury, he missed five races, and he’s progressing through rehabilitation. Pecco [Bagnaia] seems calm and clear-headed," added the engineer from Veneto.

But the issue isn’t just the health of the reigning champion—it’s mainly about technical aspects. The Ducati Desmosedici GP26 is not yet fine-tuned to target victory. This is also against an Aprilia that came out of the gates strong with three wins in the first three races, thanks in part to regulatory concessions. "The concessions system was designed precisely to try to rebalance things a bit. Clearly, this penalizes Ducati, which in recent years had made the difference from a technical standpoint. But this is not meant to be an excuse... we have to roll up our sleeves. We have to become the benchmark again."

The new Red prototype has lost something in cornering and stability, and rear tire wear is a weakness that needs addressing as soon as possible. And Jerez represents a crucial test for the Ducati crew, who will also benefit from a MotoGP test day. "Both in the test and in the race we’ll try to find some solutions," concluded Gigi Dall'Igna.