Ducati engineers have told Marc Marquez they can switch to their 2024 bike in an effort to improve his results after a difficult start to the 2026 season aboard the GP26.
Marquez So far he has struggled to adapt to the new iteration of Desmosedici, which has also proven to be a troublesome beast for his companion. Ducati Horsemen to tame this season. The 33-year-old He is yet to secure a Grand Prix podium in 2026 and is fifth in the standings.
While Gresini Alex Marquez He won the Spanish Grand Prix last Sunday and VR46 ace Fabio Di Gianntonio took his second podium of the season at the GP26 in Jerez, where the Ducati rider works. Francesco Bagnaia He did not finish higher than P9 in Thailand this time.
Before winning in Jerez Alex Marquez says “all” Ducati riders in GP26 have the same problem.Also, how the bike works, especially at corner entry. On reaching Jerez, Di Gianantonio says Ducati have “started to lose” some of their bike’s strength.as well as.
Davide Tardozzi thinks Marc Marquez is happier with Ducati’s progress than Francesco Bagnaia – is Ducati doing enough to help Peco?
Marc Marquez thinks Alex Marquez’s 2026 Spanish Grand Prix victory proves GP26 is better than GP24
Even Bagnaia believes he can win races with Ducati GP24 in 2026 “without any problems” Instead of GP26, as well. But while Ducati have told Marquez Bagnaia that he can return to GP24 if he wants to, they don’t think they should.
Read more: Every MotoGP record Marc Marquez can break in the 2026 season.
Marquez believes that Ducati will start looking for ways to improve the feeling at the front in the GP26 at the Jerez test this Monday. More importantly, Márquez feels that his brother’s Spanish GP victory GP24 will not be the solution to their problems.
“I feel a little uncomfortable again with the front, especially in the left-hand corners,” Marquez said Motor sports magazine. “These are normally my strengths, but I had problems in the first few races. The right corners have also improved somewhat. Basically, we haven’t lost our strong points (against GP26) and we have improved our weaknesses a bit.”
Marquez added: “I’ve never tested the GP24. I only did a couple of runs on it during the Barcelona test (at the end of 2024) and switched straight to the GP25. As far as the engineers are concerned, I can ride the bike again in 2024. It just needs a mix of different parts. The basic bike is still the same, you can go back if you want a configuration.
“Alex was seven seconds faster this year in GP26[at the Spanish GP]compared to last year in GP24. As a racer, you always remember winning one bike and think ‘that was great’. Meanwhile, your opponents have closed the gap tenth by tenth. We have to go forward, not back.
Alex Marquez gave Ducati their first win of 2026 at Jerez. Are you officially back?
Ducati Gresini star Alex Marquez has been awarded a career special GP26 for the 2026 season after turning 29. He finished second to Marc Marquez in the 2025 GP25 while using the GP24. In the year In 2024, the marque went from using GP23 to GP25 and no longer raced GP24.
Alex Marquez pointed out that the GP24 and GP26 have only “small” differencesAnd the last Ducati package that he used last year, he thinks that their 2024 bike has “good character”. Alex is the only Ducati rider to move directly from GP24 to GP26.
Gresini Alex 2025 saw him win three Grands Prix with GP24, his first MotoGP Grand Prix win at Jerez last year, while Marc has won 11 in GP25 since joining the factory Ducati team. Alex won the 2025 Spanish GP in 40:56.374, compared to 40:48.861 in 2026.
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