Marco Bezzecchi
Marc Marquez will start his 2026 MotoGP title defence at a disadvantage. After undergoing surgery, he won’t be able to ride next year’s Ducati at the post-season test in Valencia.
Francesco Bagnaia may consequently have a greater say in the team’s development. Ducati’s bike will hardly change from the GP25, though, so the Italian’s baffling inconsistency may continue.
At his height, he can beat Marquez, as he showed in Japan. But Bagnaia says Ducati are still ‘in trouble’, acknowledging that he’s a long way from a contending level.
Meanwhile, Aprilia are on the charge. Marco Bezzecchi is currently beating Bagnaia in the battle for third place, having won three of the last five Sprint races. Next year, a fully-fit Jorge Martin may be a factor too.
Jorge Lorenzo explains why Alex Marquez won’t win 2026 MotoGP title
After finishing second in the Sepang Sprint, Alex Marquez sealed the runner-up spot in the standings. He went on to win the Grand Prix, his third victory of 2025.
With 23 podium finishes across the two formats, he’s the only rider who’s come close to matching his brother’s consistency this year. Alex Marquez will ride a factory-spec Ducati in 2026, which in theory cements his status as the biggest challenger.
But speaking on the Duralavita YouTube channel, MotoGP legend Jorge Lorenzo dismissed colleague Ruben Xaus’ claim that Alex is a legitimate title contender. He says the Gresini rider is still too error-prone.
Marc Marquez has compared Alex to Andrea Dovizioso, who finished second for three straight years between 2017 and 2019, but Lorenzo doesn’t see the parallel. He has ‘technical’ concerns and says only bad luck could see the championship change hands within the family.
“Tell me something where Alex Marquez is superior to Marc Marquez,” Lorenzo told Xaus. “Alex Marquez is still a rider who falls a lot. Don’t tell me otherwise. He falls a lot, less in the races this year, but in the years since he arrived in MotoGP, look at his falls, [even] the third or fourth year with Ducati. Numbers don’t deceive.
“[Marc Marquez makes errors] because he goes five-tenths faster than the others. If you go half a second slower, what good does it do not to fall?
“Tell me something technical where Alex Marquez is superior to Marc Marquez. You won’t find it. He’s not a Dovizioso who never falls. He is not technical, he is not faster in braking and does more cornering. He’s better in right-hand turns. Maybe at a specific point of a corner, Alex can be 2km/h faster, but in terms of overall cornering speed and acceleration, he may not be faster than Marquez.
“I don’t see him having a stronger point than Marc. It’s difficult for Alex to beat Marc in a championship unless Marc has a lot of bad luck, if he crashes too much, if his engines brakes many times. For a normal world championship with both of them, it’s difficult for Alex.”
How many times has Alex Marquez crashed out of a MotoGP race in 2025?
Is Lorenzo’s suggestion that Marquez falls too often fair? The 29-year-old has failed to finish four races in 2025.
He succumbed to the treacherous conditions in France, tangled with rivals in the Netherlands and the Czech Republic and fell victim to overconfidence in Barcelona. In his defence, Bagnaia, Bezzecchi and Pedro Acosta all have more DNFs – between five and seven.
Still, Lorenzo sees Acosta as the biggest threat to Marquez due to his ‘age’ and ‘talent’. While the KTM rider still hasn’t won a race, he’s become more consistent in the second half of the season and could make another leap in year three.
Some feel that Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo is the only other ‘alien’ on the MotoGP grid, but right now, he does have the bike to match his skill level.
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