GP26 under Marc Márquez's microscope: why Ducati must be cautious with new developments

Marquez commented on his second day of work in Sepang, where the rain prevented Ducati (and not only them) from completing the planned program.

Ducati has been the benchmark in MotoGP in recent years, but it isn’t used to resting on its laurels. In the first test in Malaysia, it brought some technical innovations to be evaluated by its riders, starting with reigning champion Marc Marquez. He’s not yet at 100% physically, but on day one he got back into the rhythm with short runs, and on the second day he was ready to ramp up the work. He only rode in the morning, since rain arrived in the afternoon and spoiled the teams’ plans. Today’s fifteenth time matters little. Even being first on day one didn’t particularly excite him, since he had other priorities (checking the condition of his right shoulder, first and foremost) and because you need to be at the front when points are handed out.

The nine-time world champion spoke at the end of the day and emphasized that not being able to ride in the afternoon forces Ducati to postpone an important part of the planned work: “Yesterday I dedicated more time to myself,” he told Motosan, “while today we focused entirely on the project, trying different things. I think we had some important tests scheduled for the afternoon and, given the rain, we couldn’t do them. We’ll do them tomorrow morning, maybe sacrificing the time attacks a bit, but it’s more important to have a clear and precise direction for the season. I already have a fairly clear idea of what the base should be for the tests in Thailand, but it needs to be tried.”

Marquez also highlighted how important the work on aerodynamics is, given that after the test in Thailand they will have to choose the package to use during a season in which only one update will be allowed: “The fundamental thing is aerodynamics. We need to find the option that we think will give us the maximum advantage over 22 races. The fact that there’s an excellent base means being cautious when trying new things. But Ducati keeps evolving, keeps testing new developments, and tomorrow we’ll continue trying new things, those black fairings you saw.” You have to be careful with innovations, study them well before deciding to approve them, otherwise you risk taking a step backward. The competition is eager to capitalize on any missteps by Ducati.

When asked whether he also kept an eye on his brother Alex and on Pecco Bagnaia, Marc was clear: “I haven’t watched a single lap on telemetry. I’m focused on my own goals. It’s a test, and yesterday I knew that today was just another day to try things on the bike. Today I spent the whole morning on the medium rear tire. This afternoon I would have had the softs, not to set a time, but to try different things and continue working on aerodynamics, which we’ll do tomorrow.”

Marquez is focused on his work and is trying to assemble the best possible technical package together with the Ducati Lenovo team. Some chatter with Bagnaia and Alex to compare notes on the Desmosedici GP26 is inevitable, but at the moment he is concentrating above all on what he needs to do on track and on the feedback to give to the engineers. Thursday is the final day of MotoGP testing in Sepang; having favorable weather and being able to complete the planned program will be crucial.