Ducati says it is not concerned by Aprilia potentially deploying team orders in the closing stages of the 2026 MotoGP season, saying its rival “can do whatever they want”.
With just five rounds remaining in the season, the championship could swing in any direction, with Aprilia’s Jorge Martin holding a narrow two-point lead over Ducati star Marc Marquez.
Given how high the stakes are, the possibility of team orders has been brought up repeatedly, particularly at Aprilia, which is chasing its maiden world title in the premier class.
Ducati doesn’t appear to be in a position to instruct its riders to assist Marquez, with the 33-year-old enjoying a comfortable advantage over his team-mates on the Desmosedici.
Already on Friday, the 33-year-old stated that “if you are fast, you don’t need team orders”, in what appeared to be a direct jibe at his title rival Martin, who was only third among the four Aprilias at the last round in Indonesia.
Now Ducati itself has adopted a similar stance, saying its riders remain free to race against each other.
“I would like to use what Marc said: ‘if you are fast, you don’t need help’. That’s it,” Ducati team manager Davide Tardozzi told MotoGP.com.
Asked whether using team orders would take the shine off Aprilia’s success, Tardozzi replied: “They can do whatever they want. We are trying to focus only to be fast on track.
“We know our opponents are very strong, but in the end, we are looking only to have the best results for Marc. And that’s it.”
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Aprilia explains stance
After its dominant 1-2-3-4 result in Indonesia, Aprilia admitted for the first time that it is considering introducing team orders, but stopped short of specifying when it will take such action.
On the eve of this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix, the Noale marque’s management sat down with its four riders at Phillip Island to reiterate its guidelines for the race.
Aprilia has made it clear that it is still too early to use team orders, stressing that the focus is on ensuring its riders don’t collide with each other and give away points to rivals.
However, with the margins so thin during the final year of the 1000cc cycle, Aprilia is aware that every single point could make a difference in the title fight.
“The target is clear but we don’t want to say anything about rider orders,” Aprilia team manager Paolo Bonora told MotoGP.com.
“We didn’t say [anything about] rider orders because we want to have all of the Aprilia guys in front.
“We know that all of us together can do something very special. We didn’t say anything in Indonesia.
“Yesterday, as usual, we had a meeting with all four riders, saying clearly that, as in the initial races, the clear word is respect, only respect. Don’t take a risk with the same-bike riders.
“If you have to overtake somebody, take care that it’s in a safe space. But everyone has the potential. And if Trackhouse would like to win, they would like to win as well as us. But we give them the possibility to do so because we know all four riders can achieve something special.
“During that meeting, we were very clear: no orders at the moment. There is no reason at the moment to prevent ‘you’ from winning. But the only clear message is, as we told you after the fourth round, have respect for your team-mate and your Trackhouse mates as well because all together we can do something good and no risk.”
Pressed further on when such team orders could be introduced, Bonora didn’t provide a specific deadline.
“At the moment, we haven’t defined anything regarding this,” he said.
“But it’s the first time we can achieve something very special, and it will not be very smart if we have something clear, so one point, two points, five points’ difference, and there is the possibility, why not?
“But at the moment, no clear rider orders.”
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