Gresini Motogp rider Alex Marquez says that when he first stepped into the factory Ducati in 2026, he would face “double work” which he considers “a real good opportunity.”
The current second-placed rider in the 2025 rankings won two Grand Prix at Ducati in the machine a year ago, and was the next fastest competitor to the brand’s competitor behind Mark Marquez.
Next year, Ducati opted to provide the 29-year-old with a factory bike, bringing four people to Fabio di Giannantonio and total GP26 offerings, which were contracted to ride the work machinery in the VR46.
The younger Marquez brothers believe that they deserve this opportunity for the results Gresini has shown since joining Ducati in 2022.
“I’m very happy, especially for the team,” he said ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix.
“I think they deserve it. If you look at the history of Gresini and Ducati, I think they did an amazing job every year.
“Every year they get some wins in the race, so they deserve it. My results this year also helped me have my bike next year.
“Nadia (Padovan, team owner) helped me a lot. She was also pushing a lot because she had the bikes from that factory.
“So I would like to thank Ducati and Gigi (Dordina).
“There’s all the material to do a good job in 2026, but first of all, we have to finish this season in a good way.”
As to how he must adapt in 2026, he added: “It certainly changes our approach a bit during all the testing.
“We have more things to try, more things to tackle, so we’re going to double our work.
“The testing was very easy this year. We were trying to extract performances without having to try out any of our artworks or anything.
“But it’s my favorite job, to try things out and help Ducati improve.
“It’s going to be a really good opportunity for me and my team, and we’re going to try to extract possibilities from it.”