As Motorsport.com Italia reports, Ducati is on the absolute verge of securing its fifth MotoGP riders' title, and its second consecutive crown with Marc Marquez. The Spanish star held a first match point at the Qatar Grand Prix, though the scenario was a tall order requiring an outright victory in the long race while hoping Jorge Martin failed to score a single point.
Up against him was a brilliant Marco Bezzecchi, who piloted his Aprilia to his sixth victory of the season. Marquez raced with exceptional intelligence, recognizing that pushing too hard to match the rider from Rimini meant risking too much. He gladly settled for second place. Combined with a seventh-place finish for Martin—who is still battling a fracture to his right radius sustained in Australia—Marquez now holds the opportunity to seal the championship comfortably during the Sprint race at Portimao in two weeks. A victory there makes him champion regardless of what the Aprilia machines do.
Ducati team manager Davide Tardozzi stepped up to Sky Sport MotoGP to break down the weekend, offering high praise for his rider's calculated approach. "I think Marc at this moment is not only very fast but also very mature, and the Lusail race proves it," Tardozzi said. "He made a perfect strategy: he knew perfectly, and this is the awareness of a champion, that Bezzecchi was stronger on race pace with the medium rear tire, so he let him go away for the first few laps and then mid-race tried to recover as much as possible for second place. So in my opinion it was a strategy of a great champion, of awareness of one's own capabilities while respecting those of others."
That maturity became the centerpiece of a sharp response to Aprilia Racing CEO Massimo Rivola. Rivola had previously claimed that this championship belongs more to the #93 rider than to Ducati, even letting slip that sometimes four Aprilia bikes are not enough to beat Marquez.
"Four Aprilia are not enough, but there are also six Ducati and sometimes some other Ducati has won," Tardozzi fired back. "So congratulations to them for an excellent bike, but I want to say, to win is the package, because more or less you need a fast rider, a champion like we have, a competitive bike and a sports and technical management that works and can put the rider in a position to be able to win the World Championship. So the whole package is needed, also sports management."
Tardozzi noted that before the summer break, given Marquez's condition following yet another right shoulder operation, the prediction was that the real Marquez would only emerge from September onward. That forecast hit the mark completely, with the rider securing ten successes across Sprint and long races since the summer break. The relationship between Marquez and the entire team, from Gigi down to the mechanics, has been one of sincere openness regarding physical hurdles. While a deficit of 102 points and the defeat at Mugello were painful, Tardozzi emphasized that Mugello served as the exact fuel needed to believe again and demonstrate the strength of Ducati and Marquez.
Meanwhile, the Qatar weekend brought severe misfortune for Francesco Bagnaia, who suffered a nasty crash on the opening lap of the Sprint. The Italian rider sustained a double fracture to his right foot and requires surgery in the coming hours. It was a bitter pill to swallow because Bagnaia had finally rediscovered the feeling with the Desmosedici GP that eluded him in the second half of the season, successfully finding the braking touch with the rear tire and corner entry speed that suited the high-grip circuit.
Despite the upcoming operation scheduled for Tuesday morning in Turin, Tardozzi revealed that the target is an astonishingly fast comeback. Bagnaia's absolute will is to try and be present at Portimao in two weeks. While doctors and the post-operative recovery will ultimately dictate reality, the intention expressed at the airport leaves little doubt that the team is hoping to have him back on track very soon.
MotoGP
