Madonna di Campiglio between slopes and stages: Ducati takes the stage, Melandri DJs, and Bagnaia talks about Márquez

Little snow on the peaks, but lots of tourists and a constant bustle of shuttles along the main street of the beautiful Trentino ski resort, where on Monday, for the thirteenth time, the bikes and official teams that will take part in the MotoGP, Superbike, and Motocross World Championships in Lenovo Ducati colors will be unveiled.

The bond between the Borgo Panigale manufacturer and the APT of Madonna di Campiglio is very strong and dates back to the years when Maurizio Arrivabene and Maurizio Butini came up with Wroom, the event that brought the riders of the two iconic Motor Valley brands to the snow, united by the color red and the sponsor Philip Morris for the press presentations.

While waiting to see the bikes and talk to the riders, on Saturday, January 17, Marco Melandri will perform as a DJ at Lab Après Ski, at the foot of the Grosté cable car, accompanied by vocalist Ary Fashion. Macio was a factory Ducati rider in MotoGP in the troubled 2008 season, but above all he won the 250 world title in 2002 with Aprilia and is the Italian rider with the highest number of Superbike race wins: a hefty 22. He’s always been good at the turntables, and the writer remembers him on the decks at Flamingo Beach in Riccione, alongside the beautiful Manuela Raffaetà.

Back to the bikes, Monday’s schedule is packed. At 11:00, at the Palacampiglio, there will be the presentation of the new Desmosedici GP with riders Marc Márquez and Francesco Bagnaia, in front of the press and insiders, together with CEO Claudio Domenicali, Ducati Corse general manager Gigi Dall’Igna, sporting director Mauro Grassilli, Davide Barana, and Davide Tardozzi, who will continue to be the team manager in 2026 as well.

Then at 5 p.m. there will be a crowd bath with the public in Piazza Sissi, where riders and bikes will be accompanied by music and entertainment. Needless to say, Lenovo Ducati is the team to beat, even though the Japanese have invested and will be competitive again this year, along with the Veneto-based Aprilia, which already is. But the real question is whether Márquez has fully recovered from his right shoulder injury, whether he will manage to clinch his tenth world title overtaking Valentino Rossi, and whether he will remain with Ducati next year as well.

Aprilia Racing CEO Massimo Rivola spoke plainly on the matter, stating in Milan: «I think Marc will definitely stay at Ducati. Pedro Acosta has already said he wants Ducati at all costs, so that’s practically a done pair».

Francesco Bagnaia, on the other hand, spoke with Alessandro Cattelan in the new podcast Supernova on Spotify: «When you put a rider with the charisma of Márquez in the same garage, there are two possibilities: either you start fighting right away or you manage to get along. But he understood the dynamics of the team; it’s important to maintain balance within the garage without creating chaos». Balance matters. But for motorbike fans, chaos is fun.