Michele Pirro is not expecting quick fixes to Ducati\u2019s 2026 MotoGP problems.<\/p>\n
Ducati\u2019s dominance of MotoGP has faded since the end of 2025 and especially into 2026, and its test rider Michele Pirro is not expecting quick fixes in the final part of the last 1,000cc season.<\/p>\n
By now, Pirro\u2019s job is largely focused on developing the 850cc Ducati for 2027. The new Desmosedici will have its second run with official riders at the Red Bull Ring in September after the Austrian Grand Prix, following the first \u2018official\u2019 (there was no timing or footage) 850cc test at Brno after the Czech MotoGP.<\/p>\n
Ducati is not alone in having most of its development focus on next year, but Pirro admits that the 2026 Ducati is unlikely to see many of its key problems solved in what remains of this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the MotoGP, nothing has changed compared to what we\u2019ve seen in these first twelve races,\u201d Michele Pirro said in an interview with the Italian publication GPOne.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we saw in the early races is, more or less, still the case. So, we have to take it one race at a time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery track will be a story in itself. There are going to be tracks where, like at Silverstone, we struggled, and others where we\u2019ll face fewer difficulties.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe hope to arrive in Valencia and still be able to make our mark.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no immediate solution to the problems. We\u2019re working on them, but we consider this project to have now reached its end.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Pirro suggested, one of the trends of the 2026 MotoGP season has been that the pecking order at the front can change week-to-week based on track characteristics and how one layout can suit one manufacturer more than another, and how that can be flipped a week later at a different circuit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This is not a new phenomenon, of course, but one that perhaps faded slightly in the memory during the years of Ducati\u2019s near-monopoly over the front positions.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also one that Pirro expects to continue into the final part of the 2026 season, even if he still backs Marc Marquez to make the difference at the circuits where he\u2019s known to be special.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve seen that the tracks, the conditions, and the characteristics of the circuits make more of a difference than anything else,\u201d Pirro said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, I expect that maybe we\u2019ll be the benchmark again in Aragon. Marc [Marquez] could be the benchmark.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThen there\u2019s Misano, which will be tough because Bezzecchi is fast. He was fast last year, too. But maybe Marc isn\u2019t far behind either.\u00a0<\/p>\n