Why Alex Marquez feels Gresini doesn’t get the respect it deserves in MotoGP

Alex Marquez believes getting a factory-spec Ducati MotoGP bike is more of a reward for Gresini than him, saying the team doesn’t get the respect it deserves for its achievements in the paddock.

Last week, it was announced that Ducati will expand its allocation of factory bikes from three to four for the 2026 season, with both Gresini and VR46 receiving one latest-specification bike each, along with two reserved for the works team.

This would be the first time Gresini will have a factory bike since it split with Aprilia and transitioned into an independent team in 2022.

In the last four years, Gresini has been the most ‘independent’ of Ducati’s satellite teams, running its operations with little support from Borgo Panigale.

Even so, it has enjoyed immense success, with Marquez’s triumph in the Catalan Grand Prix marking its 10th grand prix win with Ducati.

Marquez, who will be riding the same-spec GP26 next year as part of the contract, said the squad founded by the late Fausto Gresini should be praised for what it has achieved in MotoGP with limited resources.

“I’m totally excited. I think it’s a reward for the team,” he said. “If you see historically, in the first year with Enea, second one with me and with Diggia [Fabio di Giannantonio] winning a race, later with Marc, this year with me [it has achieved a lot of success],” he said.

“It is so unbelievable what a small team can do, because many times in the paddock, they don’t have the respect of Gresini. They are an amazing team. So, really good news, really good to hear from the team.”

When it was revealed in June 2024 that Pramac would leave Ducati’s fold after 20 years, it was Valentino Rossi’s squad that benefitted from the change, with Fabio di Giannantonio getting the third and final GP25 for 2025.

This meant that Gresini has been the only Ducati team on this year’s grid not to have factory equipment.

However, while VR46’s status position within Ducati remains unchanged for 2026, Gresini’s status will be uplifted, with Alex Marquez receiving the same bike as di Giannantonio and factory duo Marc Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia.

The younger Marquez admitted that there will be more responsibility on Gresini next year, but is looking forward to being on equal terms with the all-conquering factory team.

“We know that we’ll be more responsible in many things, but it’s a really good thing to see and to know that we’ll have that factory bike to approach, and to have the same things as the factory,” he said.

“Especially, tests will change quite a lot. During the weekend, you also need to put your priority on the performance, not to try many, many things.

“But it’s true that on some weekends we’ll have one new item, one new piece or something that we’ll need to try, but in the end, we don’t need to lose the priority that is performance.”