- Michelin confirms that Ducati stresses the rear tire more heavily than Aprilia
- Engineer Kurt Trieb leaves Honda after less than a year and returns to KTM
- Pedro Acosta is set to join Marc Marquez in Ducati’s factory team for 2027
After three racing weekends, the 2026 MotoGP season has painted a clear picture: Aprilia sets the tone, KTM keeps pace, and Ducati seeks answers. What happens on track, however, is only part of the story. Behind the scenes, a massive power struggle over riders, engineers, and team structures has begun, which will fundamentally reshape the 2027 grid. The reduction in engine displacement from 1,000 to 850 cubic centimeters, the switch from Michelin to Pirelli as sole tire supplier, and new commercial terms under Liberty Media make the upcoming regulation perhaps the most profound change in over a decade.
Ducati’s Tire Problem: Michelin Confirms the Weakness of the Desmosedici
The 2026 season opener proved disappointing for Ducati. In Thailand, Brazil, and the USA, the Desmosedici GP26 stood no chance against the pace of Aprilia riders Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin on race day, who lead the championship standings after three Grands Prix with 81 and 77 points respectively. The riders themselves had already described that the Ducati currently relies too heavily on the rear tire and balance needs to improve toward the front to brake harder and carry more speed into corners.
Michelin manager Piero Taramasso has now confirmed this analysis from the tire manufacturer’s perspective. Ducati stresses the rear tire more heavily than Aprilia, which leads to vibrations and increased wear over race distance. “It’s clear that they still need to find the right balance,” Taramasso stated. In qualifying with fresh, soft tires, this disadvantage is less apparent, but over the full distance, the Reds simply lack the pace.
When some observers attributed the Aprilia advantage to the stiffer tire carcass that Michelin supplied for the first two races in Thailand and Brazil, Taramasso rejected this. This stiffer carcass had been offered for several seasons; all manufacturers and riders adapted to it long ago. By the third race weekend in Austin, it became clear that the gap is not due to the tire but to the bike itself. “At the moment, Aprilia simply has something more at the level of the motorcycle,” was Michelin’s manager’s conclusion.
Nonetheless, the overall performance jump was remarkable. At Austin, a new track record was set in qualifying; the sprint victory margin was ten seconds below the previous record, the Grand Prix victory margin even 19 seconds below it. On average, that meant a second per lap faster than before. Taramasso acknowledged that he had expected certain improvements, since engineers still had technical solutions up their sleeve that they didn’t want to save for 2027 given the impending regulation change. But even for the experienced tire expert, the extent of the jump was surprising.
Alex Marquez: From 2025 Championship Leader to 2026 Problem Child
Ducati’s current weakness hits Alex Marquez particularly hard. After the first three race weekends of 2025, the Gresini rider led the world championship with 87 points. Twelve months later, he stands at eighth place in the championship with just 28 points. A loss of 59 points compared to the same period last year—the greatest loss of all 20 MotoGP riders already competing in 2025. By comparison: Francesco Bagnaia also lost 50 points compared to the same period of the previous year, Marc Marquez dropped 41 points.
The winter tests had suggested confirmation of his strong previous season. In Valencia, Alex Marquez was third-fastest, in Sepang he even achieved the test best time, and he also finished the Buriram test as fifth-fastest. That after three race weekends with only a single top-five result—a fourth place in Austin’s sprint—came as all the more surprising.
Beyond the general Ducati problem with tire wear, the number 73 is fighting additional difficulties on the GP26. “I have too much movement on the bike. It makes it hard to understand how far you can push and how long good grip is available,” Marquez explained. It’s not just the front; the rear is also quite unstable, which denies the rider confidence to attack the corner. Four crashes in the first three weekends underscored this assessment.
Alex Marquez feels far removed from the top form of the previous year. “I’m probably missing about 20 percent,” he admitted openly. The characteristics of the new Ducati don’t fit perfectly with his natural riding style; he’s simply trying to survive. But he refuses to think about frustration. The situation rather motivates him to keep working and wait for solutions from Ducati. The break before the next race in Jerez, created by the shift of the Qatar GP to November, suits him fine to analyze data and take a step in the right direction.
Marc Marquez: Between Shoulder Injury and Contract Extension
For reigning world champion Marc Marquez, the situation is far from ideal. The nine-time champion collected 45 points in the first three race weekends and sits fifth in the championship standings. Beyond Ducati’s general weakness, he’s still dealing with the aftereffects of a shoulder injury from last season in Mandalika. Michelin manager Taramasso addressed it directly: Marquez isn’t physically at 100 percent yet; you can see he’s not riding freely. The break before Jerez could help him recover further.
Off-track, Marquez gave an unusually candid insight into his views on money and career in an interview with Spanish Autobild.es. Even before arriving in the MotoGP, he was taught that the choice must always be for the best motorcycle, not the highest salary. “When you arrive in the world championship, what are you looking for, money or the best bike? That’s how I was taught,” Marquez described his fundamental philosophy.
He put this philosophy into practice in 2024 when he exited his lucrative Repsol Honda contract early to race practically without a salary at the Gresini Ducati customer team. The risk paid off: the return to success led to the long-awaited ninth world championship with the Ducati factory team in 2025.
Marquez also recounted how he invested his one-million-euro bonus for winning the 2013 Rookie World Championship at Repsol Honda. Half went to Spanish tax authorities, ten percent to his manager, and part flowed into training motorcycles. His lawyer advised him to simply leave the rest in the bank. The biggest acquisition in his career was a roughly ten-million-euro property in Madrid spanning 1,300 square meters. Marquez emphasized that as a self-employed individual in Spain, he pays taxes and didn’t establish a company for tax optimization. He had early rejected a planned move to Andorra after public criticism.
Despite difficulties in the current season, Marquez is reported to be facing a contract extension with the Ducati factory team. A new two-year agreement through the end of 2028 is expected.
Acosta Heads for Ducati in 2027: A Dream Named Marquez
On the other side of the garage wall, Pedro Acosta is preparing for what may be the most important step of his still-young career. The 21-year-old KTM factory rider is set to switch to Ducati at the start of the 850cc era in 2027 and take Francesco Bagnaia’s place in the factory team. The deal was reportedly agreed before the season started, but because there’s still no commercial framework agreement between the manufacturers and MotoGP rights holder Liberty Media for 2027, Ducati hasn’t been able to officially confirm the transfer yet.
Before the USA Grand Prix at Austin, MotoGP legend Kevin Schwantz called the possible Acosta-Marquez pairing a “dream team,” without naming Ducati directly. When Acosta was asked about this comment, he didn’t hide his enthusiasm: “Time will tell. I don’t know about him, but for me, definitely. It’s not every day you get to stand on the other side of the pitwall from a nine-time world champion.” For him, such a partnership would definitely be a dream come true. Most riders in the paddock, “except maybe his brother,” would pay to spend one or more years alongside Marc Marquez.
That Acosta is currently the only rider besides the Aprilia pilots to consistently run in the top group underscores his value. With 60 points, he sits third in the championship, behind Bezzecchi and Martin but ahead of Ducatis Di Giannantonio and Marc Marquez. The latter had spoken correspondingly appreciatively about Acosta in March to Spanish radio station Onda Cero. He called him the leader of the younger generation and a special rider. But a real rivalry would only develop if they fought for the title in the final races of a season.
2027 Driver Market: Many Riders, Few Motorcycles
The impending Acosta switch to Ducati is just one piece of a massive upheaval on the driver market. At Ducati, the following picture is taking shape: Marc Marquez and Pedro Acosta are to form the factory team. Fermin Aldeguer is to be transferred to VR46, while Fabio Di Giannantonio is expected to stay there. Gresini, apparently unhappy about Aldeguer’s transfer, is reportedly concluded a new contract to continue collaboration with Ducati. Enea Bastianini is set to return there, complemented by Moto2 rider Dani Holgado. Alex Marquez in turn is to switch to KTM.
KTM’s customer team Tech3 also faces an uncertain future. The current KTM contract runs through the end of 2026, and the team is being connected to a possible switch to Honda for the new era. Both Bastianini and teammate Maverick Vinales, who underwent shoulder surgery after the Austin race weekend, are contractually bound only through year-end. Vinales is considered a possible candidate for the KTM factory team slot freed up by Acosta’s departure.
Who fares particularly poorly in this reshuffling is Nicolo Bulega. The currently dominant Superbike World Championship rider, who has won all six races of the first two rounds of 2026, seemed on the best path into MotoGP as recently as late 2025. He had debuted as a substitute for the injured Marc Marquez at Ducati in the final two races of the 2025 season and scored points in both Grands Prix. Ducati also brought him into its test program in 2026 because his knowledge of Pirelli tires is valuable for developing the 850cc bike.
But by early April, the situation looks quite different for the 26-year-old Italian. His manager Alberto Martinelli confirmed at the Superbike weekend in Portugal that there is currently no written offer. They speak with all parties, he said, but there are many riders and few free bikes. “He’s not first choice, otherwise he’d already be in,” Martinelli summed up the situation. Since all Ducati seats are otherwise allocated and the rest of the field offers hardly any options, Bulega’s MotoGP dream appears to be on ice for now.
Kurt Trieb Returns from Honda to KTM
While the driver market is being reshuffled, a personnel change on the engineering side is also causing a stir. German engine expert Kurt Trieb, one of the most experienced minds in MotoGP engine development, is returning to KTM after less than a year with Honda. The news, which SPEEDWEEK.com reported exclusively, came as a surprise, for it was only in summer 2025 that Trieb’s move into HRC engine development in Japan was one of the most eye-catching personnel changes of the season.
The 62-year-old Swabian had built and overseen engine development at KTM in Munderfing for many years. Since the Austrian manufacturer’s first MotoGP outing in 2007, Trieb had been responsible for the powertrain and shaped a powerful unit over the years. Previously, he had been involved in the design of the BMW S1000RR series engine, among other things. In July 2024, after Fabiano Sterlacchini’s move to Aprilia, he and KTM tech legend Wolfgang Felber took overall responsibility for MotoGP development.
Around the time of the 2025 German GP, it became known that Trieb was switching to Honda. He subsequently commuted regularly to Japan and was involved in the ongoing MotoGP engine development at HRC. But after less than a year, the collaboration is already over. Contractual obligations prevent disclosure of details about the end of the cooperation, but the separation is said to have occurred at Trieb’s own request.
After an unspecified break, Trieb will return to his old place of work in the Innviertel and resume his former role as head of engine development in the racing department. For KTM, the return comes at a strategically favorable time: engine development for the 850cc regulation in 2027 is in full swing. KTM was the first manufacturer to field an 850cc prototype at Jerez in December 2025. Trieb benefits from the fact that his former engineering team continued working after his departure without a direct successor and is now waiting for him.
For Honda, on the other hand, the loss of the engine expert is another setback. The Japanese manufacturer sits fourth in the 2026 Constructor’s Championship behind KTM and has been struggling for years to regain connection to the top.
Steiner at Tech3: A Formula 1 Man’s View of MotoGP
Günther Steiner offers an entirely different perspective on current MotoGP events. The former Haas Formula 1 team principal, who had previously been active at Jaguar and Red Bull, has been team owner at Tech3 KTM this season and experienced his first races up close in Austin. Bastianini’s third place in the sprint was Tech3’s first trophy under new leadership.
“For me, MotoGP is new. I find it one of the most, if not the most, exciting sports in the world,” Steiner described his first impressions to MotoGP.com. What impresses him especially is the enormous influence of the rider on the result and the risk that pilots take with every braking maneuver. “You need to be a special breed to do this!” the South Tyrolean summed up.
However, Steiner emphasized that he is still in a learning phase. The first six months were primarily about getting to know the people and the business. His main focus is less on current racing operations, which his team can manage without him, but rather on the strategic direction for the future from 2027 onwards.
Tech3’s future, meanwhile, is anything but settled. The KTM contract ends after this season, and a Honda switch for the 850cc era is in the air. How Steiner positions himself in this tension field will be one of the exciting side stories in the paddock in the coming months.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Why does Ducati have tire wear problems in MotoGP 2026?
Michelin confirms that the Desmosedici GP26 stresses the rear tire more heavily than the Aprilia. The balance between front and rear tire is currently not right, which leads to increased wear, vibrations and loss of pace over race distance. In qualifying, the disadvantage is less apparent, but in the race, Ducati lacks consistency.
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Who will ride for Ducati’s factory team in 2027?
According to consistent reports, Marc Marquez and Pedro Acosta are set to form Ducati’s factory team from 2027 onwards. Acosta is expected to come from KTM and replace Francesco Bagnaia. Official confirmation is still pending because the commercial framework agreement between the manufacturers and Liberty Media for 2027 has not yet been finalized.
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Why is engineer Kurt Trieb returning from Honda to KTM?
German engine developer Kurt Trieb left Honda after less than a year at his own request. Details about the separation are not known. At KTM, he will take up his former role as head of engine development again, just in time for the critical development phase of the 850cc engine for 2027.
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Does Nicolo Bulega still have a chance for a MotoGP seat in 2027?
It looks grim at the moment. Bulega’s manager confirmed that there is no written offer. All Ducati seats appear to be allocated elsewhere, and the rest of the field offers little opportunity. Despite his dominance in the Superbike World Championship and his experience with Pirelli tires, a MotoGP promotion in 2027 appears unrealistic for now.
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How is Alex Marquez standing in the 2026 MotoGP World Championship?
After three race weekends, Alex Marquez sits eighth in the championship with 28 points. Compared to last year, when he led the championship with 87 points after the same three races, that’s a loss of 59 points. He is struggling with the characteristics of the new Ducati GP26, which doesn’t suit his riding style.
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