Marco Bezzecchi
Marc Marquez was the lead Ducati rider before his unfortunate retirement during Marco Bezzecchi’s dominant Thailand Grand Prix, and former MotoGP team boss Ricard Jove thinks the Italian constructor would be ‘in a very bad way’ if they didn’t have the Spaniard this season.
The start of the 2026 MotoGP season began exactly how last year’s campaign ended: with Marco Bezzecchi taking the plaudits in Sunday’s Grand Prix.
After crashing out of the Sprint race entirely on his own, the Italian didn’t put a foot wrong in the Thailand Grand Prix as he held the lead at turn one and disappeared off into the distance.
On the other hand, it marked a stark turning point for Ducati’s reign of dominance over the MotoGP grid.
For the first time in 88 race weekends and 1,648 days, a Ducati-backed rider wasn’t present on the podium, which was something Francesco Bagnaia thought was ‘impossible’ after a strong pre-season with the Bologna Bullets.
- READ MORE: Carlo Pernat says ‘stratospheric’ Marco Bezzecchi is the only rider who can beat Ducati in 2026
A changing of the guard or just a blip to start the season? 🤔
Let us know in the comments below!
Ricard Jove thinks Ducati would be in serious trouble this year if they didn’t have Marc Marquez
In a recent episode of the DURALAVITA podcast, former MotoGP team boss Ricard Jove highlighted the upcoming race weekend in Brazil as a better circuit to assess the current premier class pecking order.
In his verdict, the Spaniard also pinpointed how Ducati are lucky that they still have Marc Marquez in their stable, due to the fact that he was the only rider who looked genuinely competitive last weekend in Buriram.
“Let’s go to Brazil, a circuit that is unknown to everyone,” began Jove. “We don’t know what level of grip there will be; we don’t know anything.
“Normally, when you have a good base, you arrive at a circuit and apart from adapting the gearbox a little and adapting the tyres and so on, if the bike is good, you go.
“If the bike doesn’t have a good base, it’s difficult to get it right in three practice sessions, and we’ll see who gets to Brazil and sets a fast time.
“Marquez is a guy who has always shown an ability to get up to speed, but we know that we can’t analyse Ducati based on Marc Marquez alone.
“We have to analyse it by comparing it to the rest of the Ducatis to really know what its value is, and right now, looking at this race, if it weren’t for Marc, even with his tyre problem, Ducati would be in a very bad way, because Aprilia has continued as it did last year, and so has Pecco.”
Which riders do you think will make it through Q1 in Buriram?
Marc Marquez still isn’t back to full fitness as the 2026 MotoGP continues
Even before Marquez was forced to retire early from the Thailand Grand Prix, he didn’t look to pose much of a threat to Bezzecchi’s lead at the front of the field.
The Spaniard almost snatched the victory away from Pedro Acosta in Saturday’s Sprint race, making it clear that he is still uncomfortable with riding on the limit of his Ducati prototype for the entirety of a Grand Prix distance.
Those in attendance at the race weekend in Buriram noted that Marquez looked ‘burnt out’ following the conclusion of proceedings, which can be quite concerning when considering that it was the first round of a 22-race calendar this year.
Of course, it is still very early days in terms of Marquez’s title defence, but it certainly seems to be raising a few questions, nonetheless.
Receive racing news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
