{"id":1942,"date":"2026-09-08T12:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T15:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/?p=1942"},"modified":"2026-09-08T12:38:55","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T15:38:55","slug":"ducati-admits-2026-motogp-title-seemed-lost-but-now-sees-fight-as-wide-open","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/motogp\/ducati-admits-2026-motogp-title-seemed-lost-but-now-sees-fight-as-wide-open\/","title":{"rendered":"Ducati admits 2026 MotoGP title \u201cseemed lost\u201d but now sees fight as wide open"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">News Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali admits the 2026 MotoGP title \u201cseemed irretrievably lost\u201d three months ago.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Italian believes the championship is now \u201cvery open\u201d after Ducati closed the gap to Aprilia during the European summer.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Jorge Mart\u00edn leads Marc M\u00e1rquez by 19 points and Marco Bezzecchi by 24 ahead of the San Marino GP at Misano.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali admits he once believed the 2026 MotoGP World Championship was effectively out of reach, but now sees the title fight as \u201cvery open\u201d with nine Grands Prix still to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ducati was caught off guard by Aprilia\u2019s strong start to the season, with Jorge Mart\u00edn and Marco Bezzecchi giving the RS-GP a level of competitiveness that initially put the Italian manufacturer on the back foot. The situation changed during the European summer, however, as Ducati extracted more performance from the Desmosedici.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ahead of the San Marino and Rimini Riviera Grand Prix, the 14th round of the 22-round season, Mart\u00edn leads the championship with 256 points. Marc M\u00e1rquez is second on 237, while Bezzecchi sits third with 232, meaning only 24 points separate the top three.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThree months ago, the World Championship seemed irretrievably lost. Today, the perspective is very different, and I would say the championship is very open,\u201d Domenicali told Italian newspaper <em>La Gazzetta dello Sport<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Ducati executive acknowledged that Aprilia\u2019s early-season advantage forced the reigning manufacturers\u2019 champion to react, but said the balance shifted significantly over the summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe start of the season was very difficult. Then, during the summer, things became much more balanced. We are behind and, therefore, we are not the favourites,\u201d Domenicali said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The comments come after a dramatic change in the championship picture at the previous round in Arag\u00f3n. Marc M\u00e1rquez took both the Sprint and Grand Prix victories to score the maximum 37 points available over the weekend, moving to within 19 points of Mart\u00edn. Bezzecchi also remains firmly in contention after finishing third in the Grand Prix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/motogp\/marc-marquez-overcomes-device-error-to-complete-aragon-sweep-and-assert-title-credentials\/\">Marc M\u00e1rquez arrived at Misano just 19 points behind Mart\u00edn after completing a perfect Arag\u00f3n weekend<\/a><\/strong>, while Bezzecchi has also closed the gap and remains only 24 points from the championship lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ducati refuses to call itself favourite<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite the improvement, Domenicali is reluctant to put Ducati in the position of favourite. The manufacturer is still chasing an Aprilia rider in the championship, while M\u00e1rquez is the only Ducati representative among the top three.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhen the championship is advanced and we have points to recover, it is always complicated,\u201d Domenicali said. \u201cBut the nice thing is that we are in the fight and the fans will see an exciting end to the season.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The situation also highlights how quickly the competitive order has changed. Aprilia currently leads Ducati in the Teams\u2019 Championship, while Bezzecchi and Mart\u00edn give the Noale manufacturer two riders inside the top three of the riders\u2019 standings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For Ducati, however, M\u00e1rquez\u2019s resurgence has transformed the outlook. The reigning world champion has now won four Grands Prix in 2026 and heads to Misano with the momentum of two consecutive victories in Arag\u00f3n. MotoGP\u2019s official preview also notes that M\u00e1rquez has six premier-class wins at Misano, including victories in the past two seasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/motogp\/ducati-praises-marc-marquez-after-perfect-aragon-gp-he-needed-to-make-the-most-of-it\/\">Ducati has already praised M\u00e1rquez for making the most of the Arag\u00f3n weekend as the title fight tightened<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The next stage of the championship begins at Misano from September 11-13. Mart\u00edn arrives with the lead, M\u00e1rquez is within a single strong weekend of taking control of the standings, and Bezzecchi remains close enough to turn the title fight into a three-way battle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For Domenicali, that is a radically different scenario from the one Ducati faced only three months ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Italian manufacturer may not be the favourite, but after appearing to be out of the title picture, it now has a genuine opportunity to fight all the way to the final rounds of the 2026 season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Ducati-Claudio-Domenicali-1200x800-1-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1010374702\" srcset=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Ducati-Claudio-Domenicali-1200x800-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Ducati-Claudio-Domenicali-1200x800-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Ducati-Claudio-Domenicali-1200x800-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Ducati-Claudio-Domenicali-1200x800-1-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Ducati-Claudio-Domenicali-1200x800-1.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Claudio Domenicali believes the title fight will go down to the final rounds of the championship (Photo: Ducati)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">FAQ<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Who leads the 2026 MotoGP championship?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jorge Mart\u00edn leads the championship with 256 points ahead of the San Marino GP. Marc M\u00e1rquez is second with 237 points, 19 behind, while Marco Bezzecchi is third with 232, 24 points off the lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Can Marc M\u00e1rquez take the MotoGP championship lead at Misano?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yes. M\u00e1rquez is 19 points behind Mart\u00edn, so he can move into the championship lead at Misano if he outscores the Aprilia rider by at least 20 points over the Sprint and Grand Prix weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When is the 2026 San Marino MotoGP?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The San Marino and Rimini Riviera Grand Prix takes place at Misano from September 11-13, 2026. It is the 14th round of the 22-round MotoGP season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali admits the 2026 MotoGP championship once looked out of reach but believes the title fight has changed dramatically ahead of Misano<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1020313321,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"42wp_featured_image_caption":"Ducati sees three-way MotoGP title fight between Mart\u00edn, M\u00e1rquez and Bezzecchi","42wp_featured_image_credits":"AFP","42wp_featured_video":"","42wp_ai_content_disclaimer":"","42wp_is_ai_content":false,"42wp_featured_image_hidden":false,"42wp_authors_list":[],"footnotes":"","42wp_hide_from_automatic":false,"42wp_breaking_news":false},"categories":[38],"tags":[53,498,108,104,315],"42wp_author":[36],"class_list":["post-1942","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-motogp","tag-aprilia","tag-claudio-domenicali","tag-ducati","tag-marc-marquez","tag-motogp-2026","42wp_author-juliana-tesser"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1942","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1942"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1942\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1943,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1942\/revisions\/1943"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1020313321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1942"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1942"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1942"},{"taxonomy":"42wp_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/42wp_author?post=1942"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}