Ducati GP26 Without New Parts: What It Means for Marquez in the Title Fight

• Development work is already focused almost entirely on next year’s 850 cc project
• Three Aprilia riders sit ahead of Ducati’s best rider Marc Marquez in the championship
• Pirro expects a strong Ducati at Aragon and reckons mistakes will decide the title

The 2026 MotoGP season is the last one with the 1000 cc prototypes. From next year a new set of technical regulations with 850 cubic centimetres of displacement applies. Since the summer break at the latest, a large share of the development work at every manufacturer has gone into the bikes for this new era. At Ducati this is now said openly. Michele Pirro, the brand’s test rider from Borgo Panigale for more than a decade, made clear in an interview that hardly any major steps are planned for the current Desmosedici.

Why does the Ducati GP26 get no more new parts?

Because the resources are already tied up in the 850 cc project for the coming season. Pirro considers the work on the current machine finished and expects no fundamental technical answers for the rest of the year.

The Italian puts it briefly: „In programma non c’è molto da provare, perché comunque siamo già nell’era delle 850.“ In English: „There is not much to test in the programme, because we are already in the era of the 850s anyway.“ That means Ducati essentially has to contest the remaining races with the package already available.

He is even clearer when asked about the difficulties running through the season. „Non c’è una soluzione immediata ai problemi, ci si lavora. Consideriamo però che questo progetto è ormai giunto al capolinea“, he said, meaning: „There is no immediate solution to the problems, work is being done on it. But we assume that this project has now reached the end of the line.“

Pirro is the one who feels this shift most directly. His work has centred on the new 850 cc machine for months. The first official test with the new bike took place after the Grand Prix at Brno, though without timing and without any images. The second date with the regular riders follows in September, straight after the race weekend at the Red Bull Ring.

How do the championship standings look before the race at Aragon?

Aprilia holds the top three places in the championship. Jorge Martin leads with 240 points ahead of his team-mate Marco Bezzecchi on 209 and Trackhouse rider Ai Ogura on 203 points.

Marc Marquez follows as the best Ducati rider with 200 points in fourth, closely trailed by Fabio Di Giannantonio on 199. Raul Fernandez, on 184 points, also still counts among the possible title contenders. Assessments from the paddock therefore put seven to eight riders in contention.

The course of recent weeks shows how quickly the picture turns. Before the summer break Marquez had closed to within 18 points of the lead. At Silverstone the situation flipped completely: Aprilia filled the entire podium in both the sprint and the Grand Prix, with Raul Fernandez taking the win. Marquez finished only seventh with noticeable tyre wear, and Francesco Bagnaia crashed.

On which circuits does Pirro still see Ducati out front?

Above all at Aragon. MotorLand has traditionally been one of the tracks where the Desmosedici and Marc Marquez feel particularly at home.

Pirro sums up the situation like this: „Abbiamo visto che le piste, le condizioni e le caratteristiche dei circuiti fanno più differenza di tutto il resto.“ Translated: „We have seen that the tracks, the conditions and the characteristics of the circuits make more difference than everything else.“ For Aragon he therefore expects Ducati to be the benchmark again, with Marquez setting the reference.

For the following weekend at Misano he expects strong resistance instead. Bezzecchi was already quick there last year, which is why Pirro rates the race as difficult. Even so, he does not write Marquez off there either. One week after Misano the series moves on to Spielberg, after which the field heads to Asia. The final race of the season, and with it the last of the 1000 cc era, takes place on 29 November at Valencia.

Why does Pirro back Marc Marquez of all riders in the title fight?

Because Marquez is the only one of the six Ducati riders who will also stay with the brand next year. Pirro does not want to see the role of spearhead go to someone who is leaving the camp anyway.

He explains it openly: „È chiaro che se devo puntare su un cavallo punto su di lui, perché è il pilota che rimarrà in Ducati.“ In English: „It is clear that if I have to back a horse, I back him, because he is the rider who will stay at Ducati.“ What matters most to him is that a Ducati wins the title at all.

This is explicitly not aimed at Di Giannantonio. Pirro says the VR46 rider is, in his assessment, having a strong season and has adapted very well to the GP26. Di Giannantonio was the best Ducati rider for long stretches of the year, while Marquez struggled with an injury early in the season. For next year, however, Di Giannantonio moves to the KTM factory team, and that is precisely why Pirro does not want the number one on a bike that will belong to the competition next year.

He also has a clear expectation for the outcome of the championship. He considers this year a matter of the smallest details and assumes that the mistakes of one rider or another will ultimately tip the balance, because the gap between the leading contenders is very small.

The open question around the race in Qatar

One further point can influence how the season plays out. The Grand Prix in Qatar is considered at risk because of the war in the Middle East, and a cancellation is on the table.

Pirro does not want to answer whether dropping this race would help or hurt Ducati. He points out that the balance of power shifts from circuit to circuit this season and that the form of individual riders also fluctuates strongly. His conclusion is correspondingly cautious: „Ripeto: vediamo passo dopo passo per poi tirare le somme a Valencia.“ In English: „I repeat: let us take it step by step and then draw up the balance at Valencia.“

That leaves the closing part of the 1000 cc era heading towards a picture that depends heavily on the individual circuit. After its dominance up to the end of 2025, Ducati is noticeably losing its advantage, while the technical resources have long been tied up in the coming regulations. For the championship that means day-to-day form, track characteristics and avoided mistakes carry more weight than any update that is not coming anyway.

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