M
ugello was meant to be the jewel
in Ducati's centenary celebra-
tions. Success, as they achieved
at every Italian GP outing since 2017 bar
one, would have complemented Thurs-
day's historic bike display and Sunday's
centenary color scheme perfectly.
Instead, it was another reminder that
its current Desmosedici can't lay a glove
on those noisy neighbors from up the
road. Just like three previous weekends
this year, General Manager Gigi Dall'Igna
had to watch as Aprilia swept the com
-
petition aside.
There was a fourth one-two finish for
the RS-GP, as Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia
Racing) led teammate Jorge Martin
home. And it could have so easily been
another podium lockout had Raul Fernan
-
dez (Trackhouse Aprilia) not hit a false
neutral entering the race's first turn or
teammate Ai Ogura qualified 13th.
In this form, it's hard to envision a situ-
ation in which Aprilia doesn't win its first
MotoGP title. "Every time Bez is under
big pressure—and he was under big pres-
sure—he delivers performance," said CEO
Massimo Rivola. "It's a good sign. One
ROUND 6 / MAY 29-31, 2026
MUGELLO CIRCUIT / SCARPERIA E SAN PIERO, ITALY
ROAD RACE I FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
P88
