Ducati: “Great bitterness” despite “outstanding” win at Jerez MotoGP
Gigi Dall’Igna praises an "outstanding" MotoGP victory for Alex Marquez at Jerez, but admits “great bitterness” at Marc Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia DNFs.
Ducati finally put a halt to Aprilia’s grand prix win streak with a double victory at the Spanish MotoGP.
But after emerging from the Sprint chaos with a one-two finish for Marc Marquez and Pecco Bagnaia, the factory duo lost even more points to world championship leader Marco Bezzecchi in the main race.
Alex Marquez delivered Ducati’s first grand prix win of the season by rebounding from a tough start to 2026.
However, brother Marc crashed out of second on lap 2, while Bagnaia retired from ninth with a technical issue.
That has left the reigning champion 44-points from Bezzecchi, second on Sunday, with Bagnaia already 67 points adrift.
While the factory team fluctuates, Ducati’s world championship challenge is being led by VR46’s Fabio di Giannantonio, who moved ahead of KTM’s Pedro Acosta for third in the standings, albeit 30 points from Bezzecchi.
“We return to the top of the podium for the first time this year thanks to an outstanding Alex Marquez: he takes first place in a score table on which an excellent Di Giannantonio placed third,” Ducati Corse general manager Gigi Dall’Igna wrote on LinkedIn.
“Great bitterness remains for our riders' GP: we record a double zero. Two DNFs that proved very heavy indeed for us.
“A race that began with an exhilarating start by Marc, who unfortunately fell on the following lap, and continued with the dominance of his brother Alex and the excellent performance of Di Giannantonio.
“Pecco, instead, was forced to retire owing to a technical problem.
“It could and should have been a different Sunday for our factory team; but it turned out as doubly disappointing.
“…The [satellite] Teams, Gresini and VR46, stepped up to uphold the Ducati name; my congratulations go to them, and we join in their celebrations.”
Despite Ducati’s victory, all four Aprilia riders finished inside the top six.
Dall’Igna stressed the need to improve the GP26 and confirmed that aerodynamic developments used during Monday’s test will be introduced in upcoming races.
“Truth is that we must improve and continue to pitch in our unremitting efforts to give our riders that something extra,” Dall’Igna continued.
“[The] Monday Tests were fundamental in this regard. Many aerodynamic innovations were tested, some of which will certainly be used in upcoming races. Now is the time to analyse the data collected and to make the right decisions.
“A compelling and hard-fought championship is ahead of us - indeed, it is already upon us.
“New challenges await us, and these are exactly what make us love what we do every day: we live for them and for the emotions that our sport gives us and our fans, even more so when Italian manufacturers are proving to be the protagonists.”
Aprilia riders filled the top three places at the Monday test, with Marc Marquez best of the Ducatis in fourth.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
