{"id":658210,"date":"2026-05-08T18:07:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T18:07:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/658210\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T18:07:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T18:07:12","slug":"marc-marquez-debuts-2025-inspired-ducati-aero-at-le-mans-motogp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/658210\/","title":{"rendered":"Marc Marquez debuts 2025-inspired Ducati aero at Le Mans MotoGP"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Ducati\u2019s factory riders debuted their one available in-season fairing update at the start of Friday afternoon practice for the French MotoGP.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crash.net\/motogp\/racer\/995149\/fabio-di-giannantonio\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Fabio di Giannantonio<\/a>, Ducati\u2019s highest-ranked rider in the world championship, Spanish Grand Prix winner <a href=\"https:\/\/www.crash.net\/motogp\/racer\/935450\/alex-marquez\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Alex Marquez<\/a> and former double champion <a href=\"https:\/\/www.crash.net\/motogp\/racer\/911999\/francesco-bagnaia\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Pecco Bagnaia <\/a>appear to have adopted the latest 2026-spec side fairing from the recent Jerez test.<\/p>\n<p>However, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.crash.net\/motogp\/racer\/1654\/marc-marquez\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Marc Marquez <\/a>looks to have gone in a different direction, reverting to part of the fairing design he used during last season\u2019s 2025 title-winning campaign.<\/p>\n<p>Marquez had moved away from that aero package for the start of this season, joining the other GP26 riders on an earlier \u201c2024\u201d side-fairing (featuring a bigger upper wing &#8216;loop&#8217; but smaller downwash ducts, see images below) after citing a lack of strength in his healing shoulder.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI cannot ride the bike in the same way as last year at the moment,\u201d Marquez explained during pre-season testing. \u201cThe 2025 aerodynamics were a little bit heavier, more demanding for the physical condition.<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBoth [packages] are working well, but in a different way. So, I will try one more time in my career to adapt my riding style to this new situation until I feel more ready.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marquez has been seeking more downforce to improve high-speed cornering, while the other GP26 riders seem more concerned with braking and entry.<\/p>\n<p>The return to a &#8216;heavier&#8217; style fairing, therefore, could signal Marquez&#8217;s improving strength, as he seeks to bridge a 44-point gap to Aprilia&#8217;s title leader Marco Bezzecchi.<\/p>\n<p>However, the nine-time world champion insisted the different aero update was due to his size.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We understand with Ducati that the fairing is better for my riding style,&#8221; Marquez said.<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The direction is the same [as the other GP26s], the effect is the same, but it depends on the body position.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m much smaller than Diggia, Pecco and Alex, and Ducati engineers believe that, for my body position and size, this fairing is better, with the same effect.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We have two directions,&#8221; confirmed Alex Marquez. &#8220;It looks like, for Marc, Ducati believes [his update] is a little bit better&#8230; similar to the one he used last year. So it&#8217;s a mix, but in the end, the goal is the same.&#8221;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crash.net\/motogp\/teams\/ducati-lenovo-team\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Ducati <\/a>team manager Davide Tardozzi told MotoGP pit lane reporter Jack Appleyard: \u201cWe follow the wishes of every rider, Gigi listens and tries to give them the best.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The GP26 riders still appear to be using the same front fairing specification.<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/marc-marquez-2025-japanese-motogp.jpg\"   type=\"image\/jpeg\" alt=\"Marc Marquez, 2025 Japanese MotoGP.\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.52\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Marc Marquez, 2025 Japanese MotoGP.<\/p>\n<p> \u00a9\u00a0Gold and Goose<\/p>\n<p>      <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/marc-marquez-2026-spanish-motogp.jpg\"   type=\"image\/jpeg\" alt=\"Marc Marquez, 2026 Spanish MotoGP.\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.65\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Marc Marquez, 2026 Spanish MotoGP.<\/p>\n<p> \u00a9\u00a0Gold and Goose<\/p>\n<p>      <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/gng_1310601_hires_1600x900.jpg\"   type=\"image\/jpeg\" alt=\"Marc Marquez, new aero, 2026 French MotoGP.\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.78\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Marc Marquez, new aero, 2026 French MotoGP.<\/p>\n<p> \u00a9\u00a0Gold and Goose<\/p>\n<p>Bagnaia, di Giannantonio and Alex Marquez went on to claim a direct place in Qualifying 2.<\/p>\n<p>However, Marc Marquez was left in 13th &#8211; meaning a place in Qualifying 1 &#8211; after yellow flags on his final lap following a crash for Bagnaia.<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/gng_1310555_hires_1600x900.jpg\"   type=\"image\/jpeg\" alt=\"Alex Marquez, side aero, 2026 French MotoGP.\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.78\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Alex Marquez, side aero, 2026 French MotoGP.<\/p>\n<p> \u00a9\u00a0Gold and Goose<\/p>\n<p>      <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/gng_1310486_hires_1600x900.jpg\"   type=\"image\/jpeg\" alt=\"Marc Marquez, side aero, 2026 French MotoGP.\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.78\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Marc Marquez, side aero, 2026 French MotoGP.<\/p>\n<p> \u00a9\u00a0Gold and Goose<\/p>\n<p>Marquez is not the only MotoGP champion taking a step back in aero choice at Le Mans, with Yamaha\u2019s Fabio Quartararo reverting to the Inline4 front wing for his home round.<\/p>\n<p>Quartararo was 17th this afternoon.<\/p>\n<p>Subscribe to our MotoGP Newsletter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ducati\u2019s factory riders debuted their one available in-season fairing update at the start of Friday afternoon practice for&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":658211,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[8454,64,63,8456,15118,7607,4280,806,805,803,804,85],"class_list":["post-658210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-motosport","tag-alex-marquez","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-ducati-lenovo-team","tag-fabio-di-giannantonio","tag-francesco-bagnaia","tag-marc-marquez","tag-motor","tag-motor-sports","tag-motosport","tag-motosports","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/658210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=658210"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/658210\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/658211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=658210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=658210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=658210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}