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Ducati issues defiant MotoGP statement: ‘We’ve never had a real crisis’
Ducati boss Davide Tardozzi has defended the marque’s sluggish start to the 2026 MotoGP season following a return to form on Friday at Jerez
Ducati MotoGP team manager Davide Tardozzi insists Ducati “never had a real crisis”, following a return to form on Friday at the Spanish Grand Prix.
The reigning world champion manufacturer has gone without a grand prix victory since last year’s Malaysian round, while it has only one Sunday rostrum to its credit across the opening three rounds of 2026.
That comes as Aprilia enjoys a five-grand prix victory streak with Marco Bezzecchi, who has also dominated the first three rounds of the new season.
But Friday at the Spanish Grand Prix saw Ducati look much stronger, with Alex Marquez leading the timesheets and going half a second faster than the leading Aprilia.
Ducati also put in strong race running during Friday afternoon’s Practice, with Bezzecchi admitting that Alex Marquez is a step ahead right now.
‘Ducati is still there’
Tardozzi was somewhat defiant after Friday practice when speaking to Sky Italy, noting: “We’re leading with Alex Marquez, who put in an extraordinary lap.
“We have five riders in the top ten in pre-qualifying, and I think this is a good sign.
“Over the last month, we’ve had some sound and constructive discussions about making changes to the bike, which have also proven extremely useful for the satellite teams, as Gresini demonstrated today.
“We’ve never had a real crisis, but we must also give credit to our rivals: Aprilia has made a truly enormous leap in quality. But Ducati is still there.”
Ducati’s factory team is currently in the midst of its worst podium drought in over a decade, with neither Marc Marquez, nor Pecco Bagnaia, reaching the rostrum on a Sunday since last year’s Japanese Grand Prix.
The Italian brand introduced an electronics update to help improve the GP26 under braking, though the likes of Alex Marquez and Bagnaia said the same problems were persisting.
Marc Marquez has also cautioned that his hopes of a podium this weekend are slim at this stage, as he is struggling to match the form shown by Alex Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio on Friday.
Ducati will be going for a third pole of the 2026 season later on Saturday morning at Jerez, after Di Giannantonio topped qualifying in Brazil and the USA.
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Ducati boss Davide Tardozzi has defended the marque’s sluggish start to the 2026 MotoGP season following a return to form on Friday at Jerez
Ducati MotoGP team manager Davide Tardozzi insists Ducati “never had a real crisis”, following a return to form on Friday at the Spanish Grand Prix.
The reigning world champion manufacturer has gone without a grand prix victory since last year’s Malaysian round, while it has only one Sunday rostrum to its credit across the opening three rounds of 2026.
That comes as Aprilia enjoys a five-grand prix victory streak with Marco Bezzecchi, who has also dominated the first three rounds of the new season.
But Friday at the Spanish Grand Prix saw Ducati look much stronger, with Alex Marquez leading the timesheets and going half a second faster than the leading Aprilia.
Ducati also put in strong race running during Friday afternoon’s Practice, with Bezzecchi admitting that Alex Marquez is a step ahead right now.
‘Ducati is still there’
Tardozzi was somewhat defiant after Friday practice when speaking to Sky Italy, noting: “We’re leading with Alex Marquez, who put in an extraordinary lap.
“We have five riders in the top ten in pre-qualifying, and I think this is a good sign.
“Over the last month, we’ve had some sound and constructive discussions about making changes to the bike, which have also proven extremely useful for the satellite teams, as Gresini demonstrated today.
“We’ve never had a real crisis, but we must also give credit to our rivals: Aprilia has made a truly enormous leap in quality. But Ducati is still there.”
Ducati’s factory team is currently in the midst of its worst podium drought in over a decade, with neither Marc Marquez, nor Pecco Bagnaia, reaching the rostrum on a Sunday since last year’s Japanese Grand Prix.
The Italian brand introduced an electronics update to help improve the GP26 under braking, though the likes of Alex Marquez and Bagnaia said the same problems were persisting.
Marc Marquez has also cautioned that his hopes of a podium this weekend are slim at this stage, as he is struggling to match the form shown by Alex Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio on Friday.
Ducati will be going for a third pole of the 2026 season later on Saturday morning at Jerez, after Di Giannantonio topped qualifying in Brazil and the USA.
Ducati MotoGP team manager Davide Tardozzi insists Ducati “never had a real crisis”, following a return to form on Friday at the Spanish Grand Prix.
The reigning world champion manufacturer has gone without a grand prix victory since last year’s Malaysian round, while it has only one Sunday rostrum to its credit across the opening three rounds of 2026.
That comes as Aprilia enjoys a five-grand prix victory streak with Marco Bezzecchi, who has also dominated the first three rounds of the new season.
But Friday at the Spanish Grand Prix saw Ducati look much stronger, with Alex Marquez leading the timesheets and going half a second faster than the leading Aprilia.
Ducati also put in strong race running during Friday afternoon’s Practice, with Bezzecchi admitting that Alex Marquez is a step ahead right now.
‘Ducati is still there’
Tardozzi was somewhat defiant after Friday practice when speaking to Sky Italy, noting: “We’re leading with Alex Marquez, who put in an extraordinary lap.
“We have five riders in the top ten in pre-qualifying, and I think this is a good sign.
“Over the last month, we’ve had some sound and constructive discussions about making changes to the bike, which have also proven extremely useful for the satellite teams, as Gresini demonstrated today.
“We’ve never had a real crisis, but we must also give credit to our rivals: Aprilia has made a truly enormous leap in quality. But Ducati is still there.”
Ducati’s factory team is currently in the midst of its worst podium drought in over a decade, with neither Marc Marquez, nor Pecco Bagnaia, reaching the rostrum on a Sunday since last year’s Japanese Grand Prix.
The Italian brand introduced an electronics update to help improve the GP26 under braking, though the likes of Alex Marquez and Bagnaia said the same problems were persisting.
Marc Marquez has also cautioned that his hopes of a podium this weekend are slim at this stage, as he is struggling to match the form shown by Alex Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio on Friday.
Ducati will be going for a third pole of the 2026 season later on Saturday morning at Jerez, after Di Giannantonio topped qualifying in Brazil and the USA.
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