DUCATI SAYS MARQUEZ HAS MADE A TITLE CHALLENGE POSSIBLE

Marc Marquez arrives in Qatar with a chance to clinch the 2026 MotoGP championship, but Ducati team manager Davide Tardozzi says the team is not treating the outcome as settled. The Qatar round is the first of the season’s final three, and Marquez leads Jorge Martin by 44 points and Marco Bezzecchi by 67.

To secure the title this weekend, Marquez must outscore Martin by 30 points and Bezzecchi by eight, or by seven if he wins the Grand Prix. Martin is injured, while Tardozzi expects both Aprilia riders to be formidable. “We have the opportunity this weekend, but we know that Martín and Bezzecchi will try hard to be in front of us, so it will be not so easy,” he told MotoGP.com.

The scale of Marquez’s turnaround has surprised even those inside Ducati. At the end of his comeback weekend after shoulder surgery at Mugello, he was 102 points behind the championship leader and had yet to win a Grand Prix. Now he is on the brink of a tenth world title. “Being here and playing for the championship is something that a few months ago we can’t dream of,” Tardozzi said. “But we learned that nothing is impossible with Marc Marquez.”

Tardozzi described Marquez as the spark that kept Ducati believing after Mugello. The team worked to improve the GP26, with Ducati general manager Gigi Dall’Igna and the engineers leading development efforts. “We put everything on the table, we tried to improve,” Tardozzi said. “I think that small steps allowed Marc to do what he did in the middle of the season.”

Marquez’s experience in title battles has also been crucial, Tardozzi added. “Marc is the best in these kinds of conditions. He’s used to this kind of pressure.” He credited both the rider and the team for the recovery: “The combination of this incredible nine-time World Champion and the Ducati team made a really huge work.”

Despite the commanding points advantage, Tardozzi stressed that the championship is not won until it is mathematically secured. He called Marquez’s campaign “one of the most incredible comebacks ever,” but said Ducati would wait and see. The team knows Martin well: he previously rode for Ducati and won a championship with the manufacturer. “We respect them and we have to wait and see,” Tardozzi said of Martin and Bezzecchi.

Marquez’s title opportunity is therefore clear, but Ducati expects a fight in Qatar before celebrating.