VR46 Ducati rider Fabio Di Giannantonio has acknowledged the progress made by all MotoGP manufacturers in their efforts to catch up to Ducati.
Ducati’s dominance has continued throughout 2025, with the manufacturer winning 16 Grands Prix and securing all three titles: the Riders’, Teams’, and Constructors’ Championships.
The Bologna-based squad also signed Marc Marquez, with the rider-team partnership contributing to 11 of those victories en route to Marquez’s ninth world championship.
However, despite its dominance, Aprilia noticeably made the biggest step through Marco Bezzecchi. The Rimini rider has secured one victory, two Sprint race wins, and seven podium grand prix finishes, making him the clear non-Ducati leader in the standings, currently sitting third.
In addition, KTM’s Pedro Acosta has been consistently at the sharp end with multiple podium finishes, though he is still chasing his maiden MotoGP victory.
Honda reversed its fortunes in 2024 thanks to Johann Zarco’s home victory at Le Mans, with factory rider Luca Marini regularly finishing in the points, missing out only at Motegi, the venue where Joan Mir earned his first-ever Honda podium.
Yamaha has shown an upward trajectory in qualifying, with 2021 champion Fabio Quartararo claiming five pole positions.
“I think definitely our competitors are working in a great way,” Di Giannantonio said to Crash.net after making the podium in Phillip Island.
“We saw that every manufacturer is closing the gap with us. We knew Ducati had a big gap to the other manufacturers, but now Aprilia is closer, or even ahead of us.
“Honda is coming closer, Yamaha too, as we saw with Quartararo’s poles.”
Despite this, the Roman rider warned that Ducati should avoid complacency and focus on advancing its performance to close out the regulation cycle strongly.
“So, for sure, we have to work. For sure, the work we’ve done this year could have been better,” he admitted.
“But, it’s part of racing, it’s part of the game.
“We are a big team – me, VR46 and Ducati – and we are working so hard to make our bike always better and better and better.
“I can’t wait to work on the 2026 bike to see if we can improve and keep a gap with the others.”
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