Ducati team manager Davide Tardozzi has rejected claims that its 2026 MotoGP bike has been developed too heavily around Marc Marquez, to the detriment of its other riders.
With just five rounds remaining in the season, Marquez is now the only Ducati rider inside the top-five in the standings, with VR46's Fabio di Giannantonio more than a 100 points adrift of him in sixth.
That is a striking contrast with recent years and has fuelled suggestions that the Desmosedici GP has been tailored for the nine-time world champion, potentially putting other riders on the marque at a disadvantage.
But Tardozzi firmly rejected that interpretation after the Mandalika, telling Sky Sport Italy: "I don't agree at all with those who claim Marc Marquez has steered the bike's development towards himself. It's absolutely not true.
"I've seen what parts have been brought in and what the other riders have chosen, so it's absolutely not true that Marquez has had the bike built for him. That's just paddock gossip.
"Anyone involved in developing the bike knows perfectly well what we've done for him and what we've tried to do for the others. For example, for Pecco, even if those efforts haven't worked out.
"We've always had the ability and the resources to develop the bike for each individual rider. It's not as though, because the bike works well for Marquez, that automatically makes it the right bike for everyone. Pecco, for example, uses different fairing bodywork from Marc, to give just one example. For a long time, he also used different swingarm aerodynamics from Marquez.
"Each of our factory riders – and I'd include Alex Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio in that group – has the opportunity to choose the solutions that suit them. We don't build a bike for Marc Marquez and then expect it to work for everyone. That's not how it works," he concluded.
Aprilia dominated the Indonesian Grand Prix on Sunday, securing a top-four lockout for the first time with its RS-GP. However, the Mandalika weekend was more encouraging for Ducati than the race result might suggest.
Factory rider Marquez returned from the weekend just two points behind championship leader Jorge Martin, losing no further ground to his Aprilia rival in the standings.
After the previous weekend's Japanese Grand Prix, Tardozzi had suggested that losing around 10 points would represent a good outcome at a circuit that has never particularly suited Marquez or the Desmosedici GP.
That helps explain why the weekend's overall outcome can be considered reasonably satisfactory for the Italian manufacturer.
Marc Marquez, Ducati Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images
"If we look purely at the result, we arrived with a two-point deficit and left with a two-point deficit, so for us that's a success. Clearly, the real problem remains that Aprilia has shown itself to be significantly superior. We knew that would be the case at this circuit in particular, but we hoped the gap would be a little smaller. That's the truth," Tardozzi said.
"The other circuits will tell us more, especially Phillip Island, where, to be honest, there are some other long corners that could favour Aprilia because of its grip at maximum lean angle. We'll see.
"If we can hold our own there, I believe the championship is still very much manageable. We'll take it race by race. There are still 185 points available, and we're two points behind.
Aprilia has openly acknowledged that it could consider asking its other riders, including those at Trackhouse Racing, to help Martin his battle against Marquez. That prospect does not appear to surprise Tardozzi.
"I don't know what to do in someone else's house. They have every right to give orders to their riders. I have no doubt they will do so sooner or later, because it seems fair and logical to me. I would do the same; it seems obvious," he said.
"That said, we've always shown in the past that we give our satellite riders everything when they are fighting against our factory riders. For us, the obvious approach was to keep all our riders on an equal footing, without favouritism. In this case, Aprilia is fighting against another manufacturer, so I expect it could make that kind of move."
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