Marc Marquez says that his team-mate Francesco Bagnaia’s victory in the Czech Grand Prix sprint proves that Ducati’s 2026 MotoGP bike is capable of winning the **** le.
Lining up third on the grid, Bagnaia grabbed the lead at the start on his factory Ducati, passing both polesitter Ai Ogura and VR46’s Fabio di Giannantonio on the run down to Turn 1.
For the remainder of the race, the three-time world champion came under intense pressure from the Trackhouse Aprilia rider, who closed in rapidly on him in the final laps.
But Bagnaia didn’t put a foot wrong and eventually crossed the finish line 0.241s ahead, claiming his first sprint win of 2026 and the fifth for Ducati in nine attempts.
More significantly, it allowed Ducati to close the gap to Aprilia in all three championships, particularly with points leader Marco Bezzecchi crashing out on the penultimate lap and Jorge Martin only managing fifth.
Lining up third on the grid, Bagnaia grabbed the lead at the start on his factory Ducati, passing both polesitter Ai Ogura and VR46’s Fabio di Giannantonio on the run down to Turn 1.
For the remainder of the race, the three-time world champion came under intense pressure from the Trackhouse Aprilia rider, who closed in rapidly on him in the final laps.
But Bagnaia didn’t put a foot wrong and eventually crossed the finish line 0.241s ahead, claiming his first sprint win of 2026 and the fifth for Ducati in nine attempts.
More significantly, it allowed Ducati to close the gap to Aprilia in all three championships, particularly with points leader Marco Bezzecchi crashing out on the penultimate lap and Jorge Martin only managing fifth.
4 months ago
