Alex Marquez struggles with GP26 as Bagnaia issues resurface
· Yahoo Sports
Alex Marquez says he’s “just trying to survive” the 2026 season because of his lack of feeling on the Ducati GP26, which highlights the issues Francesco Bagnaia struggled with during 2025.
Gresini were given a works-spec Desmosedici GP26 by Ducati for Marquez in the 2026 MotoGP season after he finished second in the 2025 standings. But at age 29, adapting to the bike has proven difficult for him, and he finds himself only eighth after three rounds.
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The GP26 has been a tough machine for every Ducati rider using it so far this year. Of that group, Fabio Di Giannantonio of VR46 leads in fourth place in the standings. Di Giannantonio has tallied up 50 points, followed by Marc Marquez with 45, Alex Marquez with 28, and Bagnaia on just 25.
Gresini ace Marquez has also had to deal with an extra hurdle: making the direct switch from a GP24 to a GP26. The other riders now on the GP26 all used last year’s GP25 — the same bike Bagnaia didn’t get along with and that saw him finish only fifth in the overall standings.
Alex Marquez says he’s ‘just trying to survive’ as he struggles to connect with the Ducati GP26
Photo by Mirco Lazzari gp/Getty ImagesBagnaia spent much of the 2025 season wrestling with the GP25, struggling to find confidence in the front end due to Ducati’s ride-height device. In contrast, Marquez enjoyed success on the GP24, which was known for its braking stability and played a big part in his breakthrough Grand Prix wins that year.
Marquez’s best result so far this year is a sixth-place finish at the Brazilian Grand Prix. He believes he’s operating about “20%” below his best because of how the bike feels under him and thinks it doesn’t match well with his “natural” riding style.
“I’m still missing maybe 20%,” Marquez told Motorsport.com. “I am still quite far. Still, I’m not feeling really, really good with the bike. It’s true that the characteristics of this bike affect my natural riding style quite a lot.”
“I’m just trying to survive because the feeling is still not really, really great. So, just trying to achieve some points, and not lose your head or do something strange.”
Alex Marquez’s struggles in 2026 highlight the bike-related issues that hampered Francesco Bagnaia in 2025
Marquez has openly admitted that he’s struggling this year because the GP26 doesn’t fit his riding style, something that echoes what Bagnaia experienced with the GP25. Those issues with braking played a big role in holding him back.
The jump from the GP24 to the GP25 left Bagnaia, a two-time MotoGP champion, playing catch-up. He said he felt “screwed” under braking, as the bike didn’t respond how he needed it to during races.
Slipstreaming added another layer of difficulty for Bagnaia. Combined with his problems stopping the bike both on entry and while leaning, it made race days even tougher. Now Marquez is feeling similar frustrations after switching from the GP24 to Ducati’s new machine.
Bagnaia admitted near the end of 2025 that he hadn’t fully adapted to the Ducati GP25 and regretted not making more changes to his approach. With both riders still looking for form early in 2026, it remains to be seen how long it’ll take them to fully adjust to Ducati’s latest bike.
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