Alarming Ducati MotoGP development verdict given by test rider

Ducati’s dominance of MotoGP has faded since the end of 2025 and especially into 2026, and its test rider Michele Pirro is not expecting quick fixes in the final part of the last 1,000cc season.

By now, Pirro’s job is largely focused on developing the 850cc Ducati for 2027. The new Desmosedici will have its second run with official riders at the Red Bull Ring in September after the Austrian Grand Prix, following the first ‘official’ (there was no timing or footage) 850cc test at Brno after the Czech MotoGP.

Ducati is not alone in having most of its development focus on next year, but Pirro admits that the 2026 Ducati is unlikely to see many of its key problems solved in what remains of this season.

“In the MotoGP, nothing has changed compared to what we’ve seen in these first twelve races,” Michele Pirro said in an interview with the Italian publication GPOne. 

“What we saw in the early races is, more or less, still the case. So, we have to take it one race at a time. 

“Every track will be a story in itself. There are going to be tracks where, like at Silverstone, we struggled, and others where we’ll face fewer difficulties. 

“We hope to arrive in Valencia and still be able to make our mark. 

“There’s no immediate solution to the problems. We’re working on them, but we consider this project to have now reached its end.”

As Pirro suggested, one of the trends of the 2026 MotoGP season has been that the pecking order at the front can change week-to-week based on track characteristics and how one layout can suit one manufacturer more than another, and how that can be flipped a week later at a different circuit. 

This is not a new phenomenon, of course, but one that perhaps faded slightly in the memory during the years of Ducati’s near-monopoly over the front positions.

It’s also one that Pirro expects to continue into the final part of the 2026 season, even if he still backs Marc Marquez to make the difference at the circuits where he’s known to be special.

“We’ve seen that the tracks, the conditions, and the characteristics of the circuits make more of a difference than anything else,” Pirro said.

“So, I expect that maybe we’ll be the benchmark again in Aragon. Marc [Marquez] could be the benchmark. 

“Then there’s Misano, which will be tough because Bezzecchi is fast. He was fast last year, too. But maybe Marc isn’t far behind either. 

“I think this World Championship really comes down to the details and, in my opinion, it could also be influenced by the mistakes of one rider rather than another, because we’ve seen just how fine the line is.”