Five-time 500cc world champion Mick Doohan says it is still too early to draw conclusions about the 2026 MotoGP title fight but admits Ducati’s form is difficult to decipher.

Ducati, which has won the last four riders’ titles, is yet to win a grand prix this season, with its last victory coming at the hands of Alex Marquez in Malaysia last October.

By contrast, Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi has won all five grands prix since and leads the 2026 world championship, despite crashing out of two Sprint races.

Team-mate Jorge Martin has added a Sprint win and multiple podiums, while Raul Fernandez has also put his Trackhouse Aprilia into the top three.

Ducati’s only victory so far this season is a Sprint win for reigning champion Marc Marquez in Brazil.

But Marquez, still recovering from shoulder surgery, is yet to finish on the grand prix podium, losing further points due to a wheel rim failure in Buriram and a Sprint crash at COTA, where he also took out Fabio di Giannantonio.

The VR46 rider is currently the leading Ducati rider in the standings, in fourth place, behind KTM’s Pedro Acosta and the two Aprilias.

Meanwhile, Ducati is down 42 points in the constructors’ standings relative to the same time last year, with Aprilia up by 68.

“I think it’s still too early to talk about this season,” Doohan told Marca.com. “We’ll be back in Europe soon. We’ll see what happens.

“What I don’t understand is Ducati. I’m not sure if Aprilia took a big step forward or if Ducati lost ground. And [if so], why did they lose ground?

“But it seems that the VR46 satellite team are performing better than the factory Ducati bikes.

“If that’s the case, who has been leading the development? Have they been going in the right direction?

“But I don’t know if Aprilia took a big step forward or Ducati took a step back.”

While Bezzecchi has continued his strong end to last season, team-mate Martin has emerged as one of the early surprises.

Injured for much of last season, then sidelined for part of 2026 pre-season testing, the 2024 world champion has finished on the rostrum in the last four races (including Sprints).

Martin returns to Europe just four points behind Bezzecchi, his confidence and knowledge of the RS-GP improving with each round.

“Bezzecchi has done an incredible job with that bike; he’s very strong over a single lap and in race distance. The Aprilia looks very strong,” Doohan said.

“As for Martin, first of all, I like the guy. He’s down-to-earth, a normal human being, and extremely fast.

“We saw that when he won the world championship with a Ducati at Pramac.

“Unfortunately, he was injured a lot last year. He went through some very tough times with Aprilia.

“Now, he’s had a good start. He’s second in the World Championship. Everything is going great for him… except he needs to practice his victory lap celebrations!”

Martin crashed during a wheelie while celebrating his debut Aprilia win in the COTA Sprint.

Five-time 500cc world champion Mick Doohan says it is still too early to draw conclusions about the 2026 MotoGP title fight but admits Ducati’s form is difficult to decipher.

Ducati, which has won the last four riders’ titles, is yet to win a grand prix this season, with its last victory coming at the hands of Alex Marquez in Malaysia last October.

By contrast, Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi has won all five grands prix since and leads the 2026 world championship, despite crashing out of two Sprint races.

Team-mate Jorge Martin has added a Sprint win and multiple podiums, while Raul Fernandez has also put his Trackhouse Aprilia into the top three.

Ducati’s only victory so far this season is a Sprint win for reigning champion Marc Marquez in Brazil.

But Marquez, still recovering from shoulder surgery, is yet to finish on the grand prix podium, losing further points due to a wheel rim failure in Buriram and a Sprint crash at COTA, where he also took out Fabio di Giannantonio.

The VR46 rider is currently the leading Ducati rider in the standings, in fourth place, behind KTM’s Pedro Acosta and the two Aprilias.

Meanwhile, Ducati is down 42 points in the constructors’ standings relative to the same time last year, with Aprilia up by 68.

“I think it’s still too early to talk about this season,” Doohan told Marca.com. “We’ll be back in Europe soon. We’ll see what happens.

“What I don’t understand is Ducati. I’m not sure if Aprilia took a big step forward or if Ducati lost ground. And [if so], why did they lose ground?

“But it seems that the VR46 satellite team are performing better than the factory Ducati bikes.

“If that’s the case, who has been leading the development? Have they been going in the right direction?

“But I don’t know if Aprilia took a big step forward or Ducati took a step back.”

While Bezzecchi has continued his strong end to last season, team-mate Martin has emerged as one of the early surprises.

Injured for much of last season, then sidelined for part of 2026 pre-season testing, the 2024 world champion has finished on the rostrum in the last four races (including Sprints).

Martin returns to Europe just four points behind Bezzecchi, his confidence and knowledge of the RS-GP improving with each round.

“Bezzecchi has done an incredible job with that bike; he’s very strong over a single lap and in race distance. The Aprilia looks very strong,” Doohan said.

“As for Martin, first of all, I like the guy. He’s down-to-earth, a normal human being, and extremely fast.

“We saw that when he won the world championship with a Ducati at Pramac.

“Unfortunately, he was injured a lot last year. He went through some very tough times with Aprilia.

“Now, he’s had a good start. He’s second in the World Championship. Everything is going great for him… except he needs to practice his victory lap celebrations!”

Martin crashed during a wheelie while celebrating his debut Aprilia win in the COTA Sprint.