Why the factory Ducati squad is flexing its muscles in pursuit of history at Le Mans

The Le Mans Bugatti circuit has been a stronghold for Ducati Desmosedicis ever since Danilo Petrucci crossed the line to take victory in 2020. But the streak of wins he launched has been a true team effort.

Sure, Petrucci won aboard the official factory bike. And when Jack Miller won the mixed-weather, flag-to-flag edition in 2021, his machine was a red one that knew no home other than Bologna. But then came a curious little stretch in which each of Ducati’s independents took a turn at the top of the famous podium at Circuit de la Sarthe.

First to get its shot was Gresini. Le Mans victory in 2022 was the third and final chapter in Enea Bastianini’s superlative spring – to this point the peak of his career in terms of hard results.

Then it was VR46’s turn. Marco Bezzecchi was having the year of his life in 2023, regularly fighting it out with factory rider and eventual champion Francesco Bagnaia. And Bez came out well clear of Bagnaia at the French Grand Prix, where the factory Ducati rider famously collided with Maverick Vinales.

Pramac was the last Ducati independent in line for French success – and it followed the script to perfection to seal the hat-trick. Jorge Martin, who would go on to beat Bagnaia and the factory to the world championship, scored one of only three 2024 Sunday wins in last May’s visit to Le Mans.

Maybe it’s just coincidence that the factory team has been usurped by its satellites for the last three years at Le Mans – but you can always look for reasons! The Bugatti circuit isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, for starters: Bagnaia has not had a great time keeping it on the circuit here in recent years. The track also calls for a somewhat off-piste base set-up.

Then there’s the time of year. Not only can the weather be famously unpredictable, but it’s also right about now that older, independent Ducatis start to feel their age. Two or three races into the European leg of the season, usually with a first in-season official test in the books, the latest factory bike traditionally starts to look ominous. And while there are exceptions – see Pramac, above – satellite teams don’t usually have the latest factory bike.

Perhaps the independents have simply been harnessing that last-chance feeling at Le Mans in recent years. And in the wake of the Jerez test last week, which led to some improvements to the factory GP25, that familiar feeling might be back after Friday practice for the 2025 edition of the French GP.

Can the independents turn that into positive energy once again? Early signs are that it might not be enough anyway. On Friday’s evidence, the factory team is not in the mood to surrender one of MotoGP’s most coveted wins to a ‘privateer’ for a fourth straight year.

Marc Marquez was imperious, topping both practice sessions and giving the distinct impression he could have done so by even more of a margin had he so chosen. That’s a fairly standard Friday story for MotoGP in 2025. He will be the favourite this weekend. And if he delivers Sunday honours for the crew in red, it will be a neat thing because Marquez was the last man to win before Ducatis set up camp on the top step of that Le Mans podium.

But we’ve seen that Marc is fallible at times this year. Having fallen on two out of five Sundays thus far, he’s not exactly guaranteed to do for Ducati what he did for Honda in 2019. That’s why the Ducati factory team will be pleased that the omens are good beyond Marc.

For a start, its other rider had an acceptable Friday for a second straight MotoGP weekend. Bagnaia was fourth-quickest in Free Practice 1, albeit with a worrying gap of 0.620s to Marc. But Pecco closed in when it counted, getting the margin down to 0.177s to go third-quickest in Practice. Considering Fridays are so often his bete noire, you’d expect him to be in the top-two conversation from here on. Which would be useful should Marc have another lapse.

That’s how Marquez saw it too: “The main rival is Pecco at the moment, from what I have seen. When he does a good Friday, it means that he is there.”

But what of those independent teams that have ruled the roost in recent years? Well, for a start, there are two rather than three this time around. Pramac, of course, has switched to running Yamaha machinery, to leave just Gresini and VR46. And they gave the factory less cause for concern than we’ve become accustomed to in early 2025.

Championship leader Alex Marquez couldn’t quite keep pace with the factory Ducatis on Friday

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images

The Gresini boys were respectable today, but no more. Alex Marquez was second in FP1, but in ‘timed’ Practice he fell a whisker behind his rookie team-mate Fermin Aldeguer as the pair clocked fourth and fifth-fastest times. While being in the top 10 and earning a Q2 ticket is all that matters on Friday afternoon, Aldeguer was a good couple of tenths behind Bagnaia. Was it a sign that the factory GP25s are now conclusively – if only slightly – better machines than the Gresini GP24s?

While Gresini has no reason to panic, VR46 has a mountain to climb if Friday is anything to go by. Double 2025 podium finisher Franco Morbidelli fell in the morning and later only just squeaked into Q2 with ninth-fastest time. But his day was a delight compared to that of team-mate Fabio di Giannantonio. The only independent GP25 had a shocker, setting 18th-fastest (or fifth-slowest, if you prefer) time in Practice.

Di Giannantonio put it down to “not a good feeling with the front all day”, saying he felt he could “lose it at any moment”. While Q1 still offers him a chance to rescue the weekend, the odds of him repeating Bezzecchi’s triumph are long from here.

While none of this may matter all that much for the big, happy Ducati family on most weekends, victory this time around would have a special significance. There’s something extra at play for the marque: Ducati currently sits on 22 consecutive premier class grand prix victories. The French GP is its chance to go past the mark set by Honda in the 1990s.

Not only would a factory bike breaking the record be ideal from a marketing perspective, but there’s also the old adage: if you want a job done properly, do it yourself. Win-streak records are unforgiving. Mess this one up, and Ducati will slide all the way back down to the bottom of a new ladder.

And what slippery snakes might it slide down? There’s yet another sketchy Le Mans weather forecast for starters. Remember, rules tweaks made in the wake of the Austin madness mean those who gamble correctly on a mixed-weather grid should actually be rewarded. Assuming qualifying goes to plan, Gigi Dall’Igna and company will be cursing if spots of rain appear come Sunday. They’ve got the best bike in the dry and will thank the weather gods for sparing them complications.

But even if those prayers are answered, Fabio Quartararo’s Yamaha could be the bike on which to keep a wary eye. Quartararo was the interloper who split Marc Marquez and Bagnaia in Practice. Bear in mind that this is Fabio’s home race, if he could finish second on an inferior bike at Jerez last time out, might 100,000 screaming French fans give him the extra tenth or two he needs to ruin the factory team’s dreams?

Could home favourite Quartararo cause an upset for Ducati?

Photo by: Rainier Ehrhardt