You don’t have to be a Marc Marquez hater to be bored to the back teeth with Ducati winning all the time. Dorna’s anti-Ducati rule changes in 2027 could spice things up a little…maybe…but what about next season? Are we doomed to watch yet another factory Ducati win-fest?
Maybe not! Using AI and the additional power of many malnourished Chinese children locked in a warehouse we at MGPNews have created the definitive list of reasons why Factory Ducati may fail in 2026.
Engine downgrade/crossgrade
By all accounts the problem with the Ducati GP25 was that the engine didn’t want to stop even when the rider asked it to – kind of like a Mexican roofer in an alternative universe. When the rider shut off the throttle into a corner the engine countered the proposal with a “I think I’ll just keep going for a bit longer – just to finish off what I’m doing” response – just like that annoying try-hard work colleague that you secretly want to kick in the throat.
Marc Marquez somehow found away around this (probably thanks to some dodgy dealings with Satan again) whilst DiGi and Baggers didn’t. In fact Bagnaia’s results became so bad that even Bradley Smith took to social media to laugh at him.
The MotoGP rules state that manufacturers can’t upgrade their engines for 2026. Dorna did this as a cost saving exercise…because in 2027 they’re changing the engine regulations inflicting great costs on all. But does this mean Ducati are stuck? Not exactly…
Firstly Ducati know how to bend the rules. To the point where rules end up pointing back in the opposite direction. But more importantly Ducati can use older engines. Combining these two facts means that it’s very likely the Bolognaise based team will mysteriously find plenty of fresh new engines from the GP24.
But will this be enough? And will they have enough? And finally will it even work? Will crowbarring the GP24 engine into a GP25/26 chassis be a success? Hopefully not.
Marquez still injured
Back in Indonesia (which probably isn’t a real place) Bez did his God Valentino’s sacred work by hospitalising the Spanish Antichrist Marc Marquez and ruling him out for the rest of the season. There wasn’t any video footage of either Rossi or Uccio at the time of the crash but you can bet your bottom gizzard that they were both joyously dancing around wearing shorts and ankle length socks with bells on them.
At the time of the crash we, the unwashed public, had no idea how bad Marc’s injuries were…and we still don’t. As mentioned earlier the Spaniard didn’t race again afterwards but how is he now? Has he still got one good arm and a flapper?
The final concern is that if he is better…how better is better? Will his notoriously dodgy shoulder be prone to snapping off again? It would only take one ill-timed brain-fade from Franky Morbidelli’s quarter of a million ill-timed brain-fades per-season to send Marquez into the gravel and out of the championship…leaving Bagnaia in charge of things…
Bagnaia won’t know what to do
If the aforementioned GP25 engines are dumped into Paul Denning’s backyard then all the Ducati riders will be on more-or-less equal machinery. This is bad news for Pecco – a rider who thrives on having a mechanically massive advantage over his rivals (see Carl Fogarty Superbike victories for further details).
Last season Pecco looked more wobbly on-track than when driving a hire in Ibiza…except for that race in Japan where he rode a GP24 secretly. But how will the Italian cope on equal machinery?
Then there’s the outside pressure. If rumours are to be believed the super stoat Pedro Acosta is looking to weasel his way into the factory Ducati team for 2027 – to create an all-Spanish super-team that would send Italy into a depressive downward spin.
Therefore Baggers must perform in 2026 if he wants to keep his seat. And if we learnt anything in 2025 it’s that he’ll probably fall off and blame the size of his fuel tank.
Bezzecchi and Aprilia
Samson Bez and his famed mullet-of-power was the surprise package of the season. And no one was more surprised than the folk at Aprilia who hired him with the leftover change from buying Jorge ‘we’ve backed a winner’ Martin. Marco wasn’t really part of Aprilia’s long term plan…but he is now.
Several wins and an incredibly strong end to the season saw Bezzecchi (who has a surname with too many double letters in it for my liking) leap up the championship to eventually finish in third place – ahead of everyone not from the Marquez household.
With Aprilia consistently improving and the suggestion of Ducati downgrades we very easily could see Bez emerge mullet-and-shoulders above his rival. And it’s fair to say all of us at MGPNews would absolutely love this.
Yamaha might steal the show with their V4
Okay…we’ll admit this one’s pushing the boundaries of logical optimism but we were trying to get to ‘five’ in our reason
