- Marc Marquez trains on a Ducati Panigale V2 in Aragon to rediscover his riding feel
- Ducati upgrades with new rear aerodynamics, taking inspiration from Aprilia
- Maverick Viñales must hope for a comeback in Jerez after shoulder surgery due to a loose screw
The forced racing break following the postponement of the Doha event due to the Middle East conflict puts the MotoGP protagonists in an unusual situation. Rather than maintaining race rhythm, the riders must bridge the weeks until the Grand Prix of Jerez (April 24-26) with private training. While some work on themselves, others battle injuries or technical overhauls. An overview of the most important developments in recent days.
Marc Marquez Seeks Lost Feeling on the Panigale V2
It sounds paradoxical at first: the reigning MotoGP champion steps down from his factory prototype to a Ducati Panigale V2, a supersport motorcycle with significantly less power, less aerodynamics, less of everything. But that is exactly the plan. Marc Marquez uses the racing break to run laps at MotorLand Aragon on the kart track. Not on the Grand Prix course, but on the tight, technical kart layout.
The background: Marquez is dissatisfied with the season so far. After three races, the nine-time world champion stands fifth in the overall standings with 45 points, one sprint victory to his name but no podium in a main race. Particularly the initial phase of the races is causing problems for the 33-year-old. When the tires are fresh and the motorcycle with a full tank reacts most aggressively, Marquez is currently unable to unleash his full potential.
“Myself is missing, not the bike,” Marquez said after his fifth-place finish at the US Grand Prix, during which he also had to overcome a long-lap penalty. “In the first laps when the tyres are new, the bike becomes more aggressive, and I can’t ride well at the moment.” It was him who was lacking, not the motorcycle. In the early laps, when the tires were fresh, the bike became more aggressive and he currently could not ride it well.
Marquez also spoke about positioning himself on the motorcycle in an unnatural way and then simply riding. “Still, I’m fast, but I cannot make the difference,” he added. He continued to be fast but could not make the difference. Therefore, he wanted to take a step with himself, not with the motorcycle.
The Panigale V2 is intended to help him with this. Without the ride-height devices and the overwhelming power of a MotoGP prototype, the simpler motorcycle provides more direct feedback. Marquez hopes for clarity, for a feel for the bike that is sometimes lost in the modern MotoGP era with its aerodynamic heaviness. Earlier in the year, he had already trained on a Panigale V2. At that time, however, the session ended with a slight crash, a sign of how close to the limit Marquez operates even on the street motorcycle.
The champion spent the Easter holidays with girlfriend Gemma and brother Alex with family in his hometown of Cervera. From there it was straight to the track.
Jorge Martin Puts in Extra Shifts in the Champion’s Territory
While Marquez works on himself in Aragon, MotoGP world champion Jorge Martin is already back in training. The Aprilia rider ran laps on an Aprilia RS 660 at Menarguens near Lleida, also on a kart track. The irony: the facility is located just over 50 kilometers northwest of Cervera, essentially in the territory of rival Marquez. Native Madridian Martin would have had to travel much further there than the local favorite.
The omens could hardly be different for the two Spanish top riders. Martin comes with tailwind from Austin. Following his sprint victory at the Circuit of the Americas and second place in the main race, the 28-year-old sits second in the championship standings with 77 points, just four points behind leader Marco Bezzecchi. The 2024 title defender has clearly rediscovered his appetite for racing and appears spurred on by recent successes. However, Martin has already decided to switch to Yamaha, which is causing discussion in the paddock.
Ducati Learns from the Competition: New Rear Aero and Leg Wings
In the aerodynamics battle of MotoGP, Ducati upgraded at the US Grand Prix in Austin. The factory machines of Marquez and Pecco Bagnaia received a new rear wing design as well as so-called leg wings—winglets mounted on the seat behind the rider’s legs. The inspiration comes from the competition.
Ducati had initiated the modern aerodynamics era in MotoGP 2015 when the Desmosedici first appeared with winglets. In the years that followed, Bologna led the way in aero development. But in rear aerodynamics, which unlike the homologated front fairing is not subject to development restrictions, Aprilia has recently emerged as an innovator. The brand from Noale initially introduced a ground-effect fairing and later switched to leg wings—winglets in the area behind the rider’s legs. Honda and KTM followed, and since Austin, Ducati has also caught up.
Ducati team manager Davide Tardozzi made no secret of where the inspiration came from: “It’s obvious that you have to always look at who is leading, and it seems like Aprilia in this moment is performing very well, so why not have a look….” It was obvious that you had to look at whoever was leading, and Aprilia was performing very well at the moment. Why not take a look.
The new aero seemed to work. Bagnaia reported more stability in fast corners: “I feel that you have more stability in the fast corners. Exiting from the fast corners, I feel more comfortable.” He felt more comfortable accelerating out of fast corners. However, this did not help against tire degradation: in the sprint, Bagnaia came within half a lap of victory but was overtaken by Jorge Martin on the medium compound. In the main race, he fell from fifth to tenth place.
Tellingly: Fabio Di Giannantonio from the VR46 team became the best Ducati rider in fourth place, without the new aerodynamics. Seven seconds ahead of him, Bezzecchi won on the Aprilia his fifth Grand Prix in a row despite damaged rear aero. Aprilia Racing CEO Massimo Rivola put the damage in perspective: the missing rear wing had particularly hurt Bezzecchi’s pace under hard braking; the rear was lighter, more unstable and harder to control.
Viñales and the Loose Screw: Surgery Instead of Racing
Maverick Viñales is experiencing a frustrating season. The Tech3 KTM rider had to undergo shoulder surgery after the US Grand Prix after a screw that had been inserted in July of last year following a crash at the Sachsenring came loose.
Viñales suspects that a crash on the last day of the pre-season test in Sepang in February started things. “The doctors said maybe in the last corner crash in Malaysia, the screw moved a little bit, and then little by little it started to come out,” he explained. The doctors said that the screw had possibly shifted slightly due to the last-corner crash in Malaysia and then gradually came loose. Over the winter, the shoulder actually felt good and got better every week, and in Sepang he had felt no problems either. It was not as if you crashed and the screw came right out.
After the pointless race weekend in Brazil, Viñales finally had a CT scan done, which revealed the displaced screw. On the first training day in Austin he tried once more, then broke off the weekend. The track surface in Austin had made the problem particularly clear, he had difficulties everywhere. Dr. Charte advised him that another crash to the shoulder without first removing the screw could cause considerable damage.
Viñales was operated on a few days later and now has until the end of April to get fit in time for the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez. During his absence, teammate Enea Bastianini claimed the first top-3 finish of the season for Tech3 in the Austin sprint after Pedro Acosta received a penalty retroactively.
Yamaha Struggles with V4 Project: Miller Feels Like a Lamb
Away from the front, Yamaha is fighting one of the most ambitious engine overhaul projects in recent MotoGP history. The shift from the well-known inline-four architecture to a completely new V4 engine has initially set the Japanese manufacturer further back. At the US Grand Prix, all four Yamaha riders finished in the back, led by Pramac newcomer Toprak Razgatlioglu in 15th place.
Jack Miller found a drastic image for the situation on the long straights of Austin: “We’re trying to open it up [on straight], you’re like a lamb to slaughter a little bit. The stick is peeled off you, every time down the back straight.” When you opened it up, you felt like a lamb being led to the slaughter. You were essentially stripped down the straightaway every time. In the sprint, Miller could directly compete with a Ducati from the previous year as he battled with Franco Morbidelli for 16th place, but as expected, he lost the duel on the straight.
Yamaha only decided on the V4 switch relatively late last year and officially announced the change at the season finale in Valencia. Simply bringing four race-ready motorcycles to the starting line was already a logistical challenge. The new engine is still significantly behind the competition in terms of power. Factory rider Alex Rins reached only 342.4 km/h in the speed trap in Austin, almost 6 km/h less than the Ducati.
Despite the difficult situation, Miller remained combative. It was an ongoing project and they were trying to make the best of it. Numerous engineers had returned to Japan to push development forward. These were desperate times, but the championship waited for no one.
Kinigadner: Without Motorsport, KTM Would Have Been Done
At KTM, the situation is also not uncomplicated, although sportingly considerably more positive than at Yamaha. Pedro Acosta lies third in the championship after three races with 60 points and regularly delivers top results. Behind the scenes, however, the new majority owner Bajaj Mobility AG is consistently cutting costs.
KTM advisor Heinz Kinigadner confirmed in conversation with Speedweek that there would also be no KTM grandstand at the Austria Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring in September. This was already the case the previous year. “Last year it also wasn’t there. We had to make savings with our new owners. And when you have to lay off as many people as KTM has in the last year and a half, you can’t go full throttle left and right,” Kinigadner explained.
Since the end of 2025, Indian Bajaj Mobility AG has been the majority owner of KTM. The cost-cutting was necessary to make the company future-proof. All the more important that Bajaj understood the importance of motorsport for KTM. Thank God they understood that motorsport is vital to KTM’s survival. Without winning on Sunday, you really sell nothing on Monday—especially in the off-road sport,” Kinigadner said. “They understood that we need this. We are very happy about that, because in my opinion, that would have been the end of KTM in this form.”
Sales figures apparently vindicate the chosen path. Sales were better than ever, Kinigadner said. The outside world had already left the difficult phase of the last year and a half behind.
Looking Ahead: Jerez as the Next Test
The next opportunity to measure the balance of power on the track comes with the Gran Premio de España in Jerez de la Frontera from April 24-26. For Marquez, it is a home race; for Ducati, the chance to gather more insights with the new aerodynamics; and for Viñales, an ambitious comeback goal. Afterwards comes the first official in-season test of the year.
The championship standings after three of 22 planned Grand Prix races are led by Aprilia driver Marco Bezzecchi with 81 points, followed by teammate Jorge Martin with 77 points and KTM driver Pedro Acosta with 60 points. Defending champion Marquez lies fifth with 45 points, Bagnaia’s tally stands at 25 points in ninth place. It is still early in the season, but Aprilia’s dominance poses considerable questions for both Ducati and the rest of the competition.
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Why is Marc Marquez training on a Ducati Panigale V2 instead of his MotoGP bike?
Marquez wants to rediscover his natural riding feel on the simpler motorcycle. Without the complex electronics and enormous power of a MotoGP prototype, the Panigale V2 provides more direct feedback, helping him solve his problems in the opening laps of races.
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What is Ducati’s new rear aerodynamics in MotoGP 2026?
Ducati introduced a new rear wing design and so-called leg wings on the factory machines at the US Grand Prix in Austin. These aero elements provide more stability in fast corners. Rear aerodynamics in MotoGP are not subject to homologation and can therefore be freely developed.
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When is the next MotoGP Grand Prix in 2026?
The next Grand Prix is the Gran Premio de España in Jerez de la Frontera from April 24-26, 2026. After that comes the Grand Prix de France in Le Mans (May 8-10) and the first official in-season test of the season.
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Why did Maverick Viñales have shoulder surgery?
A screw that was inserted after a crash at the Sachsenring in July 2025 had loosened, presumably due to another crash during the pre-season test in Sepang. After unsuccessful race weekends and a CT scan, Viñales decided to undergo surgery.
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