This weekend’s San Marino Grand Prix could produce the closest Ducati-Aprilia battle of the 2026 MotoGP season, with neither manufacturer able to establish a clear advantage after Practice.
The competitive balance has swung back and forth a number of times this year, with both Ducati and Aprilia enjoying dominant weekends depending upon how well-suited their bikes were to each track’s layout.
However, while Ducati has occasionally prevailed on weekends when Aprilia appeared to have the faster package, the two manufacturers have rarely looked as closely matched as they did at Misano on Friday.
Throughout the two practice sessions, Marco Bezzecchi and the Marquez brothers traded the top spot on the timesheets. In FP1, Marc Marquez edged ahead on the Ducati by 0.060s, before the Aprilia rider fought back in Practice to take the top spot by 0.103s.
Bezzecchi’s strong one-lap pace since his return from injury at Silverstone makes him an early favourite for pole position, but Ducati has strength in numbers. Four of the six Desmosedici riders finished inside the top five, right behind Bezzecchi, while Fermin Aldeguer only failed to make the Q2 cut after being hit by mechanical problems before his final time attack.
Aprilia, on the other hand, was already down one rider this weekend, with Ai Ogura withdrawing from Misano due to injury. Jorge Martin and Raul Fernandez only finished 10th and 12th, but both suggested they have more speed to unlock ahead of qualifying. With Bezzecchi no longer making the mistakes that plagued the first half of his campaign, the Noale-based factory is very much in the mix with Ducati for victory.
So why are the two Italian manufacturers so close on their home turf?
Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images
Firstly, Misano’s track layout suits both bikes, with the RS-GP particularly strong in the third sector and the GP26 gaining time in the final part of the lap. This ultimately comes down to the Aprilia being strong at fast and flowing corners, and Ducati performing better in the stop/go section.
It should also be noted that Bezzecchi and Marc Marquez also have a lot of room for improvement, having lost time to their squadmates in sector 4 and sector 3 respectively.
The second reason is the amount of grip available at Misano. The high-grip surface has effectively balanced the field, allowing the field’s best riders to make a bigger difference.
Misano is also relatively narrow, leaving less room for riders to experiment with different lines. Most riders therefore end up braking, turning and accelerating in broadly the same places, further reducing the scope for one rider or bike to gain a significant advantage.
Finally, the low tyre degradation completes the picture, allowing riders to complete several flying laps without losing that edge grip.
As a result, much of Friday’s performance ultimately came down to how comfortable riders were on the soft and medium rear tyres. Some riders were already setting rapid laps on the medium rear, which explains why Alex Marquez and Bezzecchi were so clear of the rest of the competition after the first runs.
The field bunched up back again when the soft rear was put to use. Ironically, Alex Marquez initially struggled to find pace on the soft rear, and it wasn’t until his final run that he joined the fight for pole position.
Marc Marquez summed up the state of the state of play following an intriguing day of action in Italy.
“It’s true that Misano is one of the tracks where everything is more equal,” he said. “As we see in the lap times, Aprilia is strong in the fast corners and Ducati is strong in the stop-and-go corners.
“Aprilia is strong in sector three and Ducati is stronger in another sector. So, in the end, every bike has its potential and our job is to try to find the best for our riding style.”
These unusual circumstances could also explain why Luca Marini, who generally struggles on one-lap pace, could finish just half a second down in sixth place. Pol Espargaro making it directly into Q2 also demonstrated how riders were able to make a difference at Misano.
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– The Autosport.com Team
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