Tardozzi shakes up Ducati: "Four slaps in the face." Marquez an unknown at Goiânia

The MotoGP World Championship returns to the stage for the second round of the season. The race is in Brazil, at the Goiana circuit named after Ayrton Senna—a new addition to the calendar riddled with unknowns and with very little data available. Ducati is called upon to take revenge after the setback in Thailand.

It’s been three intense weeks of work in Borgo Panigale since the Buriram GP. In the meantime, test rider Michele Pirro carried out three days of private testing at Jerez, where he tried the future 850cc bike, but above all focused on the Ducati GP26 from an aerodynamic standpoint and more. The Desmosedici has lost the large gap it once had over its rivals, thanks above all to Aprilia, which managed to assemble a truly competitive package over the winter.

Davide Tardozzi didn’t mince words after the MotoGP weekend in Buriram. Ducati must “work hard and deliver the best result” after a surprisingly difficult start. The team manager admitted that the first Grand Prix felt like taking “four slaps in the face,” after the four Aprilias finished the race in the top five, alongside Pedro Acosta’s KTM. The best Ducati rider was Di Giannantonio with a timid sixth place (Marc Marquez out, Pecco Bagnaia 9th).

A truly dismal weekend for Ducati, which ended an extraordinary streak of 88 consecutive podiums. An immediate turnaround is needed, both for the standings and to keep morale and the psychological factor high. “After taking four slaps in the face—because that’s the truth—we’re heading to tracks that will reveal the true [order]: Austin, Qatar, and Jerez,” Tardozzi added. But looming in the next few hours is the unknown of Brazil, where Marc Marquez’s talent could make the difference...

The reigning MotoGP champion was a clear protagonist in Thailand, even without winning. His physical condition is still shaky, but he put on a spectacular Sprint duel with young Pedro Acosta. A duel decided by Race Direction, which penalized the Cervera phenomenon for an overtake deemed too aggressive. In Sunday’s race, the wheel gave way because of a curb while he was fighting for the podium.

In Brazil he could begin his comeback, fitness permitting. The new track could play into Marc Marquez’s hands; fresh challenges are fertile ground for the 33-year-old Ducati rider. When he lands on a new circuit, he has no rivals—facts bear it out. He’s won on four debut tracks: Texas in 2013, Argentina in 2014, Thailand in 2018, and in 2025 in Hungary. Adaptability, the ability to read a circuit’s limits before others, courage, and talent form an explosive mix for #93. There’s only one exception: the 2023 Indian GP, where Marco Bezzecchi won on MotoGP’s new circuit.

The battle heats up, and history teaches that exceptions and surprises are always around the corner. The Goiana track is made up mainly of right-handers, which is why it’s already been nicknamed the “Anti-Marquez.” But tension is certainly high in Marc Marquez’s side of the garage. And this weekend, mistakes are strictly forbidden.