Dorna are doing ‘everything possible’ to nullify Ducati’s big advantage over their MotoGP rivals

Add as preferred source on Google

Ducati cleared the 500-point barrier in the MotoGP constructors’ championship at the Hungarian Grand Prix last weekend. Marc Marquez extended his run of Sunday victories to seven.

Aprilia, second in the standings, haven’t even reached half of that tally (228). Across the Sprints and the Grand Prix, the Bologna outfit have scored 68 podiums from a possible 84.

That’s not to say rivals aren’t making progress. Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi, who scored another podium at Balaton Park, is hunting down Francesco Bagnaia for third in the standings.

Pedro Acosta and KTM are also on the charge, breaking into the top five with four podiums in six starts. But as long as Luigi Dall’Igna has this version of Marc Marquez, it’s hard to see his team being seriously challenged.

Dorna are trying to ‘downsize’ Ducati amid ongoing MotoGP dominance

Pramac, who fielded last year’s world champion Jorge Martin, split with Ducati at the end of last season and are now working with Yamaha. There were rumours earlier this year that Dall’Igna could replace them with Tech3.

However, Dorna blocked Ducati from acquiring another satellite team because they believed it would be bad for the championship. They remain the only manufacturer with more than four bikes on the grid, though, and that gives them a clear advantage in data gathering.

According to MOW, Carmelo Ezpeleta and the MotoGP bosses are now doing ‘everything possible’ to ‘downsize’ Ducati. This may help to make the series more competitive.

The sport will hope to attract another manufacturer now that Liberty Media, who made Formula 1 extremely lucrative, have taken over. Perhaps they could buy or ally with either VR46 or Gresini.

Could MotoGP be an equal-bike series in 2027?

Ducati are considering whether to hand out more factory bikes for next year, which could rankle Dorna. Theoretically, this could give Marquez more headaches, but he’s comfortably seen off Bagnaia and Fabio di Giannantonio on equal machinery.

Independent teams like VR46 want equal status to Ducati in the sport’s new commercial deal, which is up for negotiation.

MotoGP teams are hopeful of an F1-style Concorde Agreement, but Dorna are said to be resistant.

If no compromise is reached, it’s possible that MotoGP becomes a single-make series for 2027. This is considered a last resort, but also shows the amount of power Dorna currently wield despite the Liberty deal.