Ducati’s 2026 MotoGP bike “great”, but “not enough” to beat Aprilia
Fabio Di Giannantonio has given his assessment of where Ducati’s 2026 MotoGP bike is
VR46 MotoGP rider Fabio Di Giannantonio says the GP26 is “great”, but “not enough” to beat the Aprilia right now following the French Grand Prix.
Ducati looked to have made a significant step during the Spanish Grand Prix weekend, with Alex Marquez winning the main race and Fabio Di Giannantonio third.
The post-race test also appeared to yield positive progress in the development of the GP26, with Pecco Bagnaia then leading a Ducati 1-2 in qualifying in France last weekend.
But Ducati ultimately came away with a best of fourth in the French Grand Prix, with Bagnaia crashing out of the podium places and Di Giannantonio left to pick up the pieces for the brand.
It came as Aprilia celebrated its first 1-2-3, with Jorge Martin beating team-mate Marco Bezzecchi and Trackhouse rider Ai Ogura.
Aprilia “on another level”
Di Giannantonio, who remains Ducati’s leading rider in the standings, has been its most consistent campaigner in 2026 so far.
Analysing where the GP26 stacks up against the Aprilia, the Italian admits the RS-GP is “on another level”.
“Difficult to say at the moment, because it seems that Aprilia is doing an amazing job,” he told the official MotoGP website.
“They are on another level. I think we have to work a lot with Ducati to improve our bike.
“I think we arrive in a moment where our package is great, but it’s not enough to beat them.
“So, for sure, it will be important weeks to try to analyse, work, understand what we can bring to improve our bike.”
In an interview with Sky Italy, Di Giannantonio was a little more critical of the situation, noting: “The Aprilias are scary. Our front end, however, never does what we want.
“We're short-stacked; if we improve the front, we lose something at the back, and vice versa.”
Di Giannantonio stole headlines over the Le Mans weekend after reports emerged that has agreed a deal to join KTM next year.
He heads to this weekend’s Catalan Grand Prix third in the rankings, albeit 44 points adrift of championship leader Bezzecchi.
In this article
