Ducati believes its latest Jerez MotoGP test upgrades should help it take the fight to Aprilia.
The Italian manufacturer’s dominance in the premier class has swung in Aprilia’s favour since the tail end of 2025, a trend that has continued into 2026.
Marco Bezzecchi opened the season with three straight wins to make it five in a row, before taking second at Jerez, while Gresini’s Alex Márquez is Ducati’s only winner so far.
The Noale factory’s run of form has placed Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin first and second in the standings, while Fabio Di Giannantonio leads the Ducati contingent, with defending champion Marc Marquez in fifth.
At Monday’s Jerez test, team manager Davide Tardozzi revealed that Ducati’s focus was on aerodynamics to increase downforce in high-speed corners.
“I think it’s become crucial to have the downforce that the right aerodynamics can provide, especially in the fast corners where we know Aprilia has definitely made a leap forward,” said Tardozzi to Sky Italia.
“Over the weekend, aside from Alex, who was incredibly fast, the Aprilias were performing better than us.
“So we’re doing some testing, experimenting with aerodynamic mixes to find the right solution, especially at Turns 11 and 12, where Marc Marquez crashed yesterday.”
Tardozzi indicated that increased downforce could help prevent a recurrence of the issue believed to have caused Marquez’s crash in Sunday’s main race.
Due to its concession status and limited testing outside official MotoGP sessions, Ducati’s development window is restricted.
Tardozzi expects the changes will help in the long run, but admits Aprilia will still hold an advantage at tracks that have notoriously suited it in the past.
“Yes, I believe that from this race, and especially from the next one, we’ll have something extra to be more competitive and battle more consistently with Aprilia.
“Which, I repeat, we’ve done here, but I think there will be tracks where they’ll be faster than us by default.
“Silverstone, for example, where they’ve historically been faster than us.
“But let’s see…”
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