Dorna backs Ducati to give one-podium MotoGP rider a works bike in 2026 but Claudio Domenicali may have other ideas

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Ducati are once again dominating MotoGP with Marc Marquez closing in on winning his first riders’ title since 2019, so their focus is already turning towards the 2026 season.

The Bologna Bullets are closing in on their fourth-straight riders’ championship in 2025, with Marquez hitting the summer break 120 points clear of his Gresini star brother Alex Marquez. The Ducati rider even leads his teammate, Francesco Bagnaia, by 168 points after 12 rounds.

Ducati pilots even lock out five of the top six positions in the 2025 riders’ standings. Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi is the odd one out in fourth place, but he sits 225 points adrift of Marquez. Gresini rookie Fermin Aldeguer is the odd one out in the Ducati fold, as he ranks in just 10th.

Aldeguer has scored 97 points across his first 12 appearances on the premier class grid this term. Fellow Ducati riders Marc Marquez leads with 381, Alex Marquez has 261 and Bagnaia has 213. VR46 duo Fabio Di Giannantonio is P5 on 142 and Franco Morbidelli has 139 for P6.

Dorna ‘welcomes’ the idea of Ducati giving Fermin Aldeguer a factory 2026 MotoGP bike

While Di Giannantonio also has two podium finishes in 2025, the 26-year-old is giving Ducati questions to answer before the MotoGP season is over. According to Paddock-GP, the Borgo Panigale natives are questioning if the VR46 rider should still race a factory bike next season.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Fermin Aldeguer with his rise to MotoGP and height

Di Giannantonio is the only non-works Ducati rider with a factory-spec Desmosedici GP25 in 2025, with Alex Marquez, Aldeguer and Morbidelli riding last season’s GP24. Yet Ducati have now started to mull over the idea of giving their third factory bike to another rider next year.

Aldeguer would be at the top of Ducati’s shortlist to ride a works-spec bike next term, as the 20-year-old enjoys a clause in his factory contract that stipulates he will have a works bike if one is available for 2026. Yet Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali has not made his final decision.

Dorna also ‘welcomes’ the idea of a young prospect like Aldeguer riding a works-spec Ducati in 2026, which could help the Spaniard’s hopes should Di Giannantonio lose out. But Gresini are campaigning for Ducati to reward Alex Marquez with a works bike after his form in 2025.

Gresini believe the 29-year-old has earned the chance to ride a factory Ducati next term as the younger Marquez brother has been Marc’s main rival this term on a GP24. Marquez won his first MotoGP Grand Prix at Jerez in April and has taken a further six runners-up finishes.

Alex Marquez could miss out on a factory Ducati as Fermin Aldeguer has a works contract

Ducati are considering which rider gets the third works bike in 2026, with the Borgo Panigale crew keen to reward whichever pilot they believe deserves a factory-spec bike the most. The situation may see Di Giannantonio miss out, but he will stay a works Ducati-contracted rider.

Alex Marquez only being under contract directly to Gresini may cost the Spaniard, as he and Morbidelli are the only Ducati riders without factory deals. Ducati signed Aldeguer to a two-year factory contract for his graduation into MotoGP, before placing him at Gresini for 2025.

But Ducati might also want to see more from Aldeguer for Domenicali and general manager Luigi Dall’Igna to decide to take their third factory 2026 bike off Di Giannantonio and award it to the Gresini rider. The Spaniard’s rookie form has shown promise but also inconsistency.

Aldeguer took his debut MotoGP podium with P3 at Le Mans in May’s rain-affected French Grand Prix. Yet his average finishing position through the Murcian’s first 12 Grands Prix has been P8.7 from his nine race finishes, having retired in America, Jerez and the Netherlands.