New unknowns for Ducati, Marc Marquez’s words ignite debate

Back then, in the 2025 season, MotoGp celebrated the dominance of Marc Marquez and his Ducati, a combination that seemed unstoppable and in the race weekends up to Le Mans had brought six wins in the Sprint races and four in the Sunday long races. Unlike a year ago, everything has changed: the reigning world champion has won only two Sprint races, in Brazil and Jerez, and Ducati itself has seemed far from dominant, caught up with and often surpassed in performance by its competitors, Aprilia first and foremost.

At Le Mans, Friday did not give reassuring indications to Marquez himself, who was even forced to start from Q1 on Saturday in order to play for the pole position, given the thirteenth overall time in Friday’s sessions. “We suffered, today – admitted the number 93 to the microphones of Sky Sports -. It is never ideal to find yourself in Q1, but today we couldn’t put the necessary speed on the track.”

“The bike is in decent condition but I can’t push on the front like I used to do – added Marquez -. I can’t force the front tire, I’m not riding with the same aggressiveness. My physical condition? No one expected the comeback after the injury to be easy, but we are working to get competitive again: I can’t say I’m at last year’s levels, but I still feel close.”

Friday’s practice in Le Mans, however, saw Ducati place three bikes in the Top 5: behind Johann Zarco’s Honda LCR, which confirmed the great feeling with the home corners, there are in fact Fabio Di Giannantonio, Pecco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez. Marc’s words, however, have rekindled the debate among the fans of the Rossa di Borgo Panigale: the rest of the weekend will make everyone understand the true potential of the official Desmosedici on the French track.