LUIGI DALL’IGNA SAYS ALEX MARQUEZ HAS BEEN INVALUABLE AFTER ARAGON RESULT

Ducati’s leadership appears to be looking back with regret at the decision to let Alex Marquez move on from the Desmosedici family. After the 2026 Aragon Grand Prix, Ducati chief Luigi Dall’Igna publicly praised Marquez’s contribution to both his team and Ducati as a whole—comments that come as Marquez is set to join KTM’s factory project for 2027.

Marquez, currently racing for Gresini, is among the riders leaving Ducati after failing to secure the factory opportunity he was seeking. The context is that Ducati chose Pedro Acosta for the seat that would have been available following the planned change at the top of the team, with Acosta agreeing to replace Francesco Bagnaia next season. Marquez had been aiming for a chance to step into that role after being passed over.

Dall’Igna’s tone after Aragon was notably positive. In a LinkedIn post, he described Marquez as “invaluable,” adding that the rider “did a great job for his team and for Ducati as a whole.” Dall’Igna pointed to the weekend’s momentum, referencing Marquez’s “excellent second place on Saturday,” and then explaining that in the long race he was kept from the podium fight due to “a small problem in the early turns” that prevented him from staying with the leading group. Even so, Dall’Igna concluded that Marquez remains “invaluable, fast, and always ‘on the ball.’”

The Aragon race itself showed how fine margins can decide positions. Marquez finished fourth, 5.058 seconds behind Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi, and 3.885 seconds ahead of Aprilia rider Jorge Martin in fifth. The report attributes part of Marquez’s difficulty to an early incident involving Marc Marquez’s bike: Marc’s ride height device was not deactivated, leading to the Ducati grinding on the floor. That forced Marc to slow through Turns 1 and 2 and also blocked Alex, affecting the flow of the opening laps.

From there, the race became a sequence of overtaking opportunities. The account notes that Aprilia’s Martin and Trackhouse’s Raul Fernandez moved past Alex at Turn 3, while Acosta also gained ground after being presented with a chance when Marquez’s Ducati was impeded. Acosta then got ahead again before Turn 4. When Marquez later lost time trying to re-establish position behind Martin and Fernandez, he was unable to close the gap to the front group containing Marc Marquez, Acosta, and Bezzecchi.

Dall’Igna’s praise also aligns with the broader Ducati view of Marquez’s pace. The reporting highlights that Bagnaia has said Ducati’s “data” shows Alex Marquez is the fastest Ducati rider, describing him as the most comfortable of the four riders on the GP26.

Looking ahead, Marquez’s KTM deal is already confirmed alongside another Ducati exit: Fabio Di Giannantonio. Both have agreed two-year contracts to join KTM’s factory team for 2027, with the move following KTM’s decision not to re-sign Brad Binder. KTM’s rider market opened after Acosta’s agreement to replace Bagnaia at Ducati, and it ultimately led to KTM securing Marquez and Di Giannantonio—while Ducati’s own leadership now appears to be acknowledging what they may have lost.