For Álex Márquez, Gresini “deserves” the Ducati GP26
© Red Bull Content PoolSecond in the MotoGP world championship, Álex Márquez will benefit from an official Ducati in 2026, like that of his brother Marc and Pecco Bagnaia.
Accustomed to using Ducatis from the previous year, the Gresini team will therefore benefit, like VR46, from an official machine for the 2026 season. The performances of Álex Márquez, a brilliant second in the championship on a GP24, behind his brother Marc and his GP25, played an important role in this decision by the Ducati factory. The Spanish rider is delighted, and in the Motegi paddock in Japan, he was especially keen to point out how well-deserved this was for a Gresini team that has been doing better than what one would expect from a satellite team since 2022.
“I’m really happy, for myself and for the team, especially. They really deserve it, when you see what Gresini has done with Ducati, it’s really good work every year, with several victories. The team deserves it, and my results this year helped to get this bike. Nadia (Padovani, team principal. Ed.) also supported me a lot and pushed for me to have this official bike. Thanks to Ducati and Gigi (Dall'Igna, director of Ducati Corse. Ed.) for making this desire a reality. We have everything we need to make 2026 a good season, but first we have to finish this season in a good way.”
The former Moto2 world champion knows that his off-season will be busier, as he will be involved in the development of the Ducati Demosedici GP26 alongside the two factory team riders, and Fabio Di Giannantonio, who will be the fourth rider to receive a GP26. Praised for the quality of his technical return, the younger of the Márquez brothers is eager to get back to work in a different way than in recent seasons, when he received last year's bike and "just" went as fast as possible with it!
“Our approach to testing will definitely change a bit, we’ll have more things to try and work on. We’ll have almost double the workload; this year’s testing was actually quite simple, we were just trying to get the most performance out of the package. But I enjoy this job, trying parts, trying to help Ducati improve. It’s going to be a really good opportunity for the team and for me, and we need to make the most of this opportunity.”
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