Davide Tardozzi says Dorna have done a ‘very good’ job of hurting Ducati with MotoGP rule change

Add as preferred source on Google

Ducati have already sealed the constructors’ championship, and the teams’ title beckons. But it’s clear that their rivals are getting closer.

Ducati have kept winning, but that’s largely thanks to Marc Marquez. It’s more telling that Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi has climbed up to fourth in the standings.

Based on the trajectories of the two riders, he’ll soon leapfrog Francesco Bagnaia, currently eight points ahead in third. Alex Marquez is also worried about Bezzecchi as he tries to seal the runner-up spot, though he has a 101-point cushion.

The Italian won the Sprint at Misano, and, going back to the Assen weekend, he’s scored eight podiums in his last 14 starts. Meanwhile, Pedro Acosta is leading the KTM charge, climbing to fifth in the table.

Davide Tardozzi says Dorna’s concession rules have worked exactly as planned

Speaking on MotoGP’s Preview show ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix, Ducati team manager Davide Tardozzi says they stopped developing their GP25 when they saw the advantage they had in the early races.

Indeed, their bikes monopolised the podium at the first five Grands Prix. However, they have seen their rivals improve ‘a lot’ since, leading to rethink for technical mastermind Luigi Dall’Igna.

Tardozzi attributed the competitive shift to the concessions system introduced by Dorna. Ducati, who are in rank A, are given the fewest tyres for testing, and aren’t allowed to use full-time riders, nor can they field wildcards to trial new parts in a race setting.

Tardozzi said: “We thought that it was good for us to stop the development on the 2025 bike because we saw at the beginning of the year that the performance was incredible. But it seems that Dorna’s rules were very good because our opponents have grown a lot this year and Gigi will now start to think again!

“It’s better that we go back to the desk and start to open some drawers, thinking about next year and the end of the year.”

Dorna don’t want Ducati to sign one of their 2027 targets

The table below shows how many points the top three constructors’ have accumulated since reigning world champion Jorge Martin returned at the Czech GP. Ducati still have a commanding advantage, but are perhaps becoming overreliant on Marquez.

There’s a genuine chance that Aprilia could dethrone Ducati next year once Martin regains top form. KTM will need more consistency from their riders, excluding Acosta.

MotoGP bosses are determined to do what they can to keep the championship close. Dorna would like Acosta to stay rather than join Ducati, ensuring the superstars are spread across the manufacturers.

Some feel that MotoGP’s concessions rules are leading to more crashes. The performance-equalising measures place a greater onus on riders to make a difference, and therefore take risks.