Ducati issues defiant MotoGP statement: 'We'll have something extra now'

Ducati focused heavily on aerodynamics during Monday’s Jerez MotoGP test, as it looks to reduce the performance gap to Aprilia.

Although Marco Bezzecchi’s winning streak ended at the hands of Alex Marquez on Sunday, the Aprilia rider extended his championship advantage over the leading Ducati of Fabio di Giannantonio with second place.

Aprilia placed four riders inside the top six, while the factory Ducati squad suffered a nightmare double non-score with Marc Marquez crashing out and Pecco Bagnaia retiring with a technical issue.

Team manager Davide Tardozzi confirmed the focus is on increasing downforce, particularly in high-speed corners.

"I think it's become crucial to have the downforce that the right aerodynamics can provide, especially in the fast corners where we know Aprilia has definitely made a leap forward and where over the weekend - aside from Alex, who was incredibly fast - the Aprilias were performing better than us,” Tardozzi told Sky Italia at Monday’s test.

“So we're doing some testing, experimenting with aerodynamic mixes to find the right solution, especially at Turns 11 and 12, where Marc Marquez crashed yesterday."

Extra downforce would also have helped counter the wind that Tardozzi believes caused Marquez’s accident.

"Unfortunately, yesterday there was also a bit of wind, the load on the front wasn't what it should have been, and basically the bike lifted slightly there and lost front grip,” Tardozzi explained. “That's why we're working hard today on those two corners, in sector four, to improve the aerodynamic load on the front."

"Something extra"

Tardozzi is confident that Ducati can continue to take the fight to Aprilia in the upcoming rounds.

"Yes, I believe that from this race, and especially from the next one, we'll have something extra to be more competitive and battle more consistently with Aprilia.

“Which, I repeat, we've done here, but I think there will be tracks where they'll be faster than us by default, like Silverstone for example, where they've historically been faster than us. But let's see..."

The French Grand Prix at Le Mans takes place in two weeks.