Aprilia’s Jorge Martin believes “everything will return to normal” when MotoGP returns to Europe for the Spanish Grand Prix, where he expects Ducati to bounce back.
The start to the 2026 MotoGP campaign has proven to be difficult for Ducati, who appears to be a step behind the dominant Aprilia.
Though winning the sprint in Brazil and finishing on the podium in the other two half-distance races run so far, Ducati has just one grand prix podium to its credit from the first three rounds.
That was courtesy of VR46’s Fabio Di Giannantonio in Brazil, while reigning world champion Marc Marquez has yet to breach the top three on a Sunday.
It’s a far cry from this time 12 months ago, when Ducati looked dominant, sweeping to wins in all three of the first sprints and grands prix.
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Aprilia, though largely struggling in sprints, save for Jorge Martin’s COTA win, has been peerless on Sundays, with Marco Bezzecchi completing a hat-trick across Thailand, Brazil and the US.
But 2024 world champion Jorge Martin believes the Spanish Grand Prix coming up at the end of the month will see something of a reset.
“At Jerez, everything will return to normal,” he told DAZN, before warning, “Ducati will return to normal.”
Ducati general manager Gigi Dall’Igna branded the US Grand Prix as a “wake-up call” for the Italian manufacturer.
Jorge Martin, Aprilia Racing, 2026 US MotoGP
© Gold and Goose
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Jorge Martin: ‘We weren’t ready’ for strong start to 2026
Martin’s return to form after an injury-plagued 2025 has been one of the big surprises of the opening three rounds to the new campaign, not least because he missed the first pre-season test.
Starting the season with a fourth-place finish in Thailand, Martin returned to the podium for the first time since 2024 in Brazil, before capitalising on a contra-strategy in the COTA sprint to secure victory.
He then went on to finish second in the grand prix, and is now just four points down on championship-leading team-mate Bezzecchi.
In the same DAZN interview, Martin said that he was trying to lower his expectations coming into the Austin weekend after his Brazil podium.
“Coming into Austin, the truth is I didn’t expect this,” he said.
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“I tried to lower my expectations a bit. We weren’t ready. [The plan was] get through two or three races flying under the radar, keep scoring points; fifth, eighth, whatever comes will be good.”
He added: “The end of the season is usually my time, but I don’t want to rush things.”
Martin is due to leave Aprilia at the end of the season, having reportedly signed with Yamaha ahead of the new campaign getting underway.
His place at Aprilia is set to be taken by Pecco Bagnaia.
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