- Aprilia wins the first two Grands Prix of 2026 with a one-two finish in Brazil
- Di Giannantonio finishes as the best Ducati rider in third and leads Marquez in the championship
- Ducati chief engineer Gigi Dall’Igna has been working on solutions since winter
The 2026 MotoGP season has barely begun, yet Ducati finds itself in its most uncomfortable position in years. After two race weekends in Thailand and Brazil, Aprilia has taken early control of the World Championship. In Goiânia, the factory team delivered a dominant one-two finish with Marco Bezzecchi ahead of Jorge Martin. Neither pole-sitter Fabio Di Giannantonio nor sprint winner Marc Marquez had an answer to the pace of the Aprilia riders on Sunday.
Tardozzi Demands Improvements to the Desmosedici
Ducati team manager Davide Tardozzi was outspoken after the race in Brazil. “We can’t always rely on Marc’s talent to compensate for our shortcomings,” he told Motorsport.com. Marquez is also not yet physically at one hundred percent, as he continues to recover from a shoulder injury sustained last year. However, that is no excuse, Tardozzi emphasized, as the other Ducati riders have also lost touch with the front runners.
At the same time, he paid respect to the competition. “First of all, congratulations to Aprilia, they have done outstanding work since last year,” Tardozzi said. Aprilia had already been performing at a high level since the middle of last season and had improved significantly once again. Ducati is no longer alone at the top, with rivals having closed the gap considerably.
According to Tardozzi, General Manager Gigi Dall’Igna has been working since winter to address the Desmosedici’s weaknesses. “We know the problem and we are looking for a way to solve it,” he explained. He was cautiously optimistic that Ducati could reduce the deficit by the third round in Austin.
Di Giannantonio Wins the Duel Against the World Champion
While the Ducati factory team struggled, Fabio Di Giannantonio enjoyed one of his best MotoGP weekends on the VR46 Ducati. On Friday, the Italian was only 20th in partially wet conditions, but on Saturday he secured pole position. It was only his second pole in the premier class after Mugello 2022.
In the sprint, Di Giannantonio narrowly lost to Marc Marquez, finishing second and missing out on his first Saturday race victory. In Sunday’s Grand Prix, however, he turned the tables. “There was only one option: I win. I gave everything for it,” he described the battle. Marquez then made exactly the same mistake that Di Giannantonio himself had made in the sprint. “It was exactly the same.”
The 27-year-old spoke of one of the most entertaining duels of his career. The fight with Marquez was, as always, somewhat aggressive but completely clean from both sides. “When racing is like this, it’s beautiful,” Di Giannantonio said. “Of course, it’s even more beautiful because I won the battle.”
Pain After Warm-Up Crash Slowed Di Giannantonio
The Sunday had started far from ideal. Di Giannantonio crashed during the warm-up session and landed on his left shoulder, which had already caused him problems in 2024. Due to that injury, he had even sat out the last three races of the season to undergo early surgery. Teammate Franco Morbidelli also crashed during the morning session, forcing the VR46 mechanics to skip their lunch break to rebuild both machines in time.
Di Giannantonio had initially underestimated the crash. “But then during the first hard braking maneuver, I already felt a throbbing in the joint,” he explained. The pain had temporarily broken his concentration. Nevertheless, he found his rhythm and finished as the best Ducati rider in third place.
Aprilia Has the Edge in Slippery Conditions
When asked where exactly Aprilia is currently stronger, Di Giannantonio had a clear assessment. “When conditions get a bit more slippery with the heat and everything, they have something more,” he said. Ducati is trying to understand these correlations and work on them.
Despite the gap to Aprilia, Di Giannantonio was satisfied with his team’s development. VR46 has reached the top level within the Ducati camp. “I’m much happier about the work we’ve done in the garage and over this winter than about the battle itself,” he emphasized.
Bagnaia Endures Another Difficult Weekend
Francesco Bagnaia’s difficult start to the season also continued. The Ducati factory rider crashed out of the race from eleventh position, ending his weekend prematurely. Tardozzi acknowledged that Ducati is unable to provide the Italian with a motorcycle that gives him the necessary confidence. However, Bagnaia himself admitted that his weekend had already been compromised by a qualifying error that left him in eleventh on the grid.
Ducati Must Prove It Can Close the Gap
After two race weekends, Di Giannantonio sits fourth in the championship, three points ahead of Marquez, making him the highest-placed Ducati rider in the overall standings. VR46 holds fourth in the team standings as the best Ducati team.
For Ducati, the third round in Austin will be a crucial benchmark. Michelin introduced tires with stiffer rear carcasses at the start of the season, and the new circuit in Goiânia created additional unfamiliar conditions. Only from Austin onward should a clearer picture of the true balance of power emerge. Tardozzi put it this way: “We now have to prove that Ducati is capable of closing the gap.”
The loss of Pramac to Yamaha is also noticeable. With only six Ducati motorcycles on the grid, the manufacturer has less data and fewer tactical options than in previous years. The days when Ducati dominated MotoGP at will appear to be over, at least for now.
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