Ducati’s poor start to the 2026 MotoGP season has exposed the cost of signing Marc Marquez, veteran rider manager Carlo Pernat has said.
At least one Ducati The rider had 88 consecutive podium finishes, but that streak ended at the Thai Grand Prix. Reigning champion Marquez was chasing Raul Fernandez for third when he suffered a race-ending puncture.
VR46’s Fabio Di Giannantonio was the next best Ducati in sixth, with the Apria rounding out four of the top five spots. Marquez’s factory mate Francesco Bagnaia was only P9.
A changing of the guard to start the season or just plain old? 🤔
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Ducati ‘destroy’ Francesco Bagnaia by signing Marc Marquez
to speak Formula PassionPernat applauded Aprilia’s ‘fantastic leadership’, giving technical director Fabiano Sterlacchini and team manager Massimo Rivola a thumbs up.
But he pointed out that a weakened Ducati was facing them. Bagnaya is not the same rider after his defeat. Marquez In last year’s intra-group battle.
In fact Bagnaia is moving to Aprilia. For 2027, Ducati has effectively forced Pedro Acosta to seek him out.
Pernat says Ducati cannot count on the VR46 duo, effectively leaving them with ‘one rider’. They lost Marko Bezecic and Jorge Martin at the end of 2024.
Was Marc Marquez’s dig at Pedro Acosta really necessary?
‘It wasn’t a one-day (championship) lead like Mark said,’ Acosta told reporters in Thailand.
“If we look at things carefully now, Apria is thanks to Sterlacchini and Rivola’s decisions and everything.”
“Ducati is paying the price for the arrival of Marquez, which destroyed Bagnaia a little bit psychologically, it changed him.
“Di Giannantonio is not there, Morbidelli is not there, the drivers are not in a good position. There is only Marquez, because Di Giannantonio and Bagnaia will arrive, but they will lose many seconds.”
Bangaya seems like a different person. He suffered mental torture against Marquez and is still working. He did the right thing by deciding to leave and vote for Ephraim. And it gets even prettier when the announcement comes out.
Ducati are walking into Honda’s trap with Marc Marquez, but it’s worth it.
Pernat overlooked Alex Marquez, who finished 2nd behind his brother in last year’s championship and has shown excellent form. The Gresini rider failed to score in Thailand after retiring from the race, but his P7 in qualifying points to his progress.
Teammate Fermin Aldeguer missed the tournament through injury and is targeting a return to Brazil. His absence from the Test will hurt him, but he remains one of the most exciting talents on the gridiron.
even if Ducati has become too dependent on MarquezIt’s hard to imagine any regrets about signing him. He entered the championship last year with 11 wins in 18 starts.
At Honda, the gap between Marquez and the rest of the riders continued to grow. In the year In 2019, he produced one of his most dominant seasons ever, with no other RC231V rider finishing in the top eight.
That disparity may not be entirely healthy, but one can be sure that the Honda Marquez will return it without hesitation.
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