DUCATI INSISTS THERE ARE NO TITLE FAVOURITES AS MARC MARQUEZ TAKES THE POINTS LEAD
5d ago·
Ducati has played down Marc Marquez’s first-time lead in the 2026 MotoGP standings, insisting the title fight is too close to talk about any clear favourites.
After the San Marino Grand Prix at Misano, Marquez moved to the top of the championship for the first time in his campaign. The seven-time world champion delivered back-to-back doubles on Sunday, adding a fifth main-race win of the season to a run that has seen him claw back dramatically from a 102-point deficit since May’s Italian Grand Prix.
Ducati’s Davide Tardozzi said the result at Misano showed what Marquez is capable of, telling the official MotoGP website: “I think that here at Misano Marc showed who he is.” But he stressed that the championship picture is still far from settled, pointing to the remaining calendar and the way rival teams can swing performance from track to track. “But, on the other hand, we know that there are still eight races to go, with a lot of points to play for,” Tardozzi said. “And we perfectly know our opponents, the riders, the bike.”
He added that Ducati’s approach has to be race-by-race rather than based on any single weekend’s momentum: “So, we must be concentrated race by race and try to collect as many points as possible in each race track, because we know there are race tracks where Aprilia will be faster than us.”
Tardozzi’s message was blunt about the wider contest: “No, I think there are no favourites in this moment.” He went on to underline that the title will be decided over the full distance of the season: “I guess that, as I said already, the championship will be played out until the end.”
He also framed the task for Ducati as balancing confidence with urgency. “But we have to take as many points as possible when we are not the fastest, and when we are comfortable, we have to try harder to win.” Tardozzi acknowledged Marquez’s experience as a key factor, saying: “We have experience, but Marc has more experience than us.”
Ducati’s faith in Marquez was summed up in another quote from Tardozzi: “So, we trust Marc in every situation. He is aware of his potential, and sometimes he gives us the right way to go.”
Marquez’s rise to the top came with help from misfortune elsewhere. Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi crashed, while Jorge Martin was affected by an arm pump issue and finished fifth. With Marquez level on points with Martin, his five wins compared to Bezzecchi’s one meant he left Misano as championship leader.
The Misano round also shifted the constructors’ standings. Ducati took the lead in the team table by two points over Aprilia following the weekend’s results.
Marquez himself described the feeling of leading the championship as something out of the ordinary. After the San Marino Grand Prix, he said it felt “unreal,” especially considering the injury difficulties he has faced during 2026.