VR46 star Fabio Di Giannantonio believes Ducati have “started to lose” some of their bike’s strengths after Borgo Panigale’s team began changing parts to suit Marc Marquez.
Marquez It was in a different league to the rest. Ducati riders, and the MotoGP field, last year. But Ducati did not get off to a strong start to 2026 as they saw their Italian rivals, the Apria, emerge with the fastest bike in the first three rounds of the campaign.
While Marquez won the 2025 MotoGP title in five rounds After joining the factory Ducati team, he sits fifth in the 2026 standings ahead of this week’s Spanish Grand Prix. VR46 Star By Gianantonio He is the fourth highest Ducati pilot in the ranks.
Aprilia racer Marco Bezzecchi leads the 2026 standings with 81 points from three rounds, four points ahead of teammate George Martin. KTM ace Pedro Acosta is third on 60 points, ahead of Di Giannantonio on 50 and Marquez on 45 in the Ducati GP26.
Are Ducati too dependent on Marc Marquez to develop their bikes?
Fabio D’Giantantonio has blamed Ducati for the death of Marc Marquez by building his bike.
of Compared to the Ducati GP26, the Aprilia RS-GP has emerged as a superior bike.Noale’s native machine can turn much better than the GP26. Ducati Ace Francesco Bagnaia struggled with excessive tire wear in 2026.It only grows in the Grands Prix, too.
Read more: Everything you need to know about Fabio Di Giannantonio from Net Worth to AS Roma
D’Giantantonio has now hinted at Ducati’s decision to adapt Marquez last year, which led to the loss of the Bologna Bullets. He believes Ducati’s bid to build Desmosedici around Marquez has actually caused them to lose their strengths.
“I think the direction of Ducati’s development has shifted to Marquez since last year,” Di Giantantonio was quoted as saying. Motorsport.com. “Peco and I fight more because Mark is our style of riding.
“If we went our own way in terms of set-up, we wouldn’t be competitive, we wouldn’t be fast, we wouldn’t have confidence on the bike and we wouldn’t have a predictable bike.
“I think Ducati needs to work on this aspect, because it’s always been a fantastic bike, with good performance, and when things changed on the bike and went in the opposite direction, we started to lose some things.”
Despite Marquez’s dominance in 2025, winning 11 Grands Prix from 18 starts, the shoe was replaced in 2015. In 2026, Ducati remains on the other foot as Aprilia dominates. Bezecchi is on a five-game Grand Prix winning streak, during which the Italian has led every round.
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Bezcicci took the final two Grand Prix victories of 2025 and started 2026 with a perfect record on the Aprilia RS-GP. In contrast, VR46 star Di Giannantonio took a Ducati rider’s only Grand Prix podium in 2026, P3 in Brazil.
None of the four riders using the GP26 were happy with the bike’s performance. Gresini pilot Alex Marquez believes that “all” Ducati riders are experiencing the same problemsand factory Ducati racing Bagnaia feels he could easily win in 2026 if he had a Ducati GP24..
As well as struggling to hold onto the rear tire in previous races in Thailand, Brazil and the US; Bagnaia has “completely changed” the braking system for the Ducati GP26.. The two-time champion does not feel like the GP26, or the GP25, did not allow him to ride naturally.
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