Jorge Lorenzo believes Ducati have taken a step forward with their 2026 MotoGP bike after watching Marc Marquez and riding the GP26 at the Sepang test.
The Borgo Panigale brand threw down the gauntlet this week in Malaysia, as Ducati Set up their tent in search of the seventh consecutive construction title. Ducati has won the riders’ championship in the last four years, including last season. Marquez He became dominant.
Marquez won the 2025 MotoGP riders’ title with a record five lapsWinning 11 Grands Prix in the first 17/22 rounds. He left Japan with a 201-point lead in the standings before the Indonesian suffered a shoulder injury in the 18th round.
Another Ducati champion can await in 2026. MotoGP seasonas a Alex Marquez Set the perfect fastest lap time in this week’s Malaysian three-day test. of Gresini Rider posted a 1:56.402 on day three, also the best 10-lap average in Sprint Race simulations.
Jorge Lorenzo believes the cornering stability of the Ducati GP26 is a ‘significant’ advantage
The 2026 Sepang test was Marc Marquez’s first time on a Ducati MotoGP bike after requiring surgery on his shoulder last October. And Ducati’s work in the winter seems to have paid off, as Marquez thinks the Ducati 2026 bike “feels better”. Instead of the GP25 he used in 2025.
Read more: Marc Marquez’s first MotoGP title with Ducati was defined in five moments
Three-time MotoGP champion Lorenzo Ducati also thinks that they have made progress after seeing what the Marquez brothers do Francesco Bagnaia and VR46’s Fabio D’Giantantonio Produced in Sepang. In particular, it stood out for how stable the Ducati GP26 was in the corners.
“Ducati has definitely taken a step forward,” he said Fast week. “The bike handles very smoothly in the corners. The Ducati feels very controlled even when coming out of corners. On the climbs and when the bike is straight, everything is very smooth.”
“Other bikes feel more fearsome in those conditions. For starters, the ride height device at the rear has also been adjusted. The winglets will soon be as large as those used in Formula 1. This also ensures that the front of the bike is very stable, and the wheels are barely there.
All five Ducati riders in 2018. In the 2026 Sepang test, they were among the top seven fastest laps
Alex Márquez, Bagnaia and Marc Márquez put their rivals in fear with the speed they managed in Malaysia on a Ducati 2026 bike. KTM rider Pedro Acosta called the Ducati’s pace at Sepang “terrible”.and Aprilia CEO Massimo Rivola believes they can “go home” given Bagnaia’s pace..
Aprilia rider Marco Bezecchi took part in Ducati’s dominance over the overall timesheets at the Sepang test this week. The 27-year-old set the second-fastest time of 1:56.526, while Honda’s Joan Mir was fifth, but five Ducati riders finished in seventh place.
VR46’s Franco Morbidelli finished seventh in the Ducati GP25, making the Italian the slowest Ducati rider in the absence of Gresini ace Fermin Aldeguerre. Gresini chose not to name a replacement in Sepang, however Aldegar will be out at the start of the 2026 season due to injury..
