MARQUEZ AND BAGNAIA REJECT TYRE-CASING EXCUSE AFTER AUSTRIAN GP

Marc Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia both pushed back on the idea that Ducati’s Austrian Grand Prix struggles could be blamed on a new Michelin tyre casing introduced at the Red Bull Ring. Despite a difficult weekend for the Desmosedici, the pair insisted the focus should remain on performance rather than equipment.

Marquez narrowly missed out on pole, ending qualifying 0.015s behind Jorge Martin, and he then won the Sprint. On Sunday, he finished second behind Pedro Acosta, extending his lead in the championship, while Bagnaia came home seventh. For Marquez, the result still reflected a gap to the front: he was seven seconds behind Acosta at the chequered flag. The Spaniard also revealed he had to manage brake problems during the race, with the issue described as nearly taking him out.

The tyre discussion emerged after MotoGP rolled out a new casing in Austria that is intended to be similar to the rubber planned for Indonesia. Marquez rejected that narrative when asked about the tyres after the race. Speaking to TNT Sports 2, he said: “Doesn’t matter which tyre you have. I mean, you have to be fast and the others, this weekend, they were faster than us and we need to learn about it. And yeah, it’s true that Indonesia is slightly different, but already last year, we struggled. But first of all, we go to Motegi and then we arrive to Indonesia.”

Bagnaia echoed the same message. Speaking to GPOne, he argued that nothing had effectively changed for Ducati’s rear tyre feel, and pointed to Aprilia’s performance as evidence that the casing wasn’t the deciding factor. He said: “These tyres worked pretty well. In the end, we’ve always had this rear tyre and, as I said, it’s worked pretty well. Aprilia? It’s the same casing as always, it hasn’t changed.”

While Ducati’s pace was questioned across the weekend, Marquez was the highest-placed Ducati rider, with Fermin Aldeguer and Fabio Di Giannantonio finishing eighth and ninth. Bagnaia’s seventh was his first finish in the last four races, but he still couldn’t match the pace shown by the Aprilia and KTM riders, who had the better of Ducati throughout the event.