Marc M\u00e1rquez: \u201cOh really! I did not know. Nice, nice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trevor Hedge: We\u2019ll get stuck into trying to get some insights into MotoGP, the sort of questions that enthusiasts like me would like answered.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll start off by saying all the best to your brother. His quick recovery has been great to see. It would have been awesome to speak to you together if he was here.<\/p>\n
Marc M\u00e1rquez: \u201cThank you. Alex will be here tomorrow. He will not race, but he is coming tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Why Ducati works<\/p>\n
Trevor Hedge: After so many years racing against Ducati, I imagine you already had a strong idea of what the bike could do from the outside. But once you joined, first Gresini and then the Factory team, what surprised you most from the inside?<\/p>\n
Not so much about the motorcycle, which I think you would largely have known what to expect, but about Ducati\u2019s working culture, the decision-making, and the whole vibe around how you work with this team. What is different from where you have been before?<\/p>\n
Marc M\u00e1rquez: \u201cFor me, the biggest difference has a name: Gigi Dall\u2019Igna. He is only one person there, of course, and then he has a very good group, very professional engineers.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut in the end, what I see is that the organisation inside is super clever, and the clever guy is Gigi. He organises all the pieces in the correct way to find the best performance every time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNow it is like a table\u201d \u2014 M\u00e1rquez explains how aero changed MotoGP<\/p>\n Trevor Hedge: To give us a bit more insight into how the bikes have changed.\u00a0 If you overlaid telemetry from your 2014 title-winning bike with your Ducati today, obviously so much has changed \u2014 tyres, ride-height devices, aerodynamics and all the rest of it. What would be the area that would stand out as so vastly different compared to back then?<\/p>\n Marc M\u00e1rquez: \u201cFirst of all, the biggest difference is the aerodynamics. Before, when I arrived, with the aerodynamics step by step we created more downforce in the bikes. Now it is something where you almost don\u2019t feel the tyres. I mean, you feel them because you need to feel them, but before the bike was floating, it was shaking, and you had many warnings before the crash.<\/p>\n \u201cNow it is like a table. The downforce is a lot. The tyres are better and better, and when you have a movement, most of the time you completely lose the front, or the bike. Before it was like you were jumping into the corner with some slide. Now if you slide, it is like you break the aerodynamics, and then it works worse. So the riding style is completely different.<\/p>\n \u201cAnother point, for example, comparing 2014, is that the electronics then were even better than now, because now it is a single electronic system. Before, Honda had its own software. I prefer the single electronics, because the rider can make more of the difference.\u201d<\/p>\n Why overtaking is harder now<\/p>\n Trevor Hedge: On electronics, obviously they have been quite tightly controlled for some years now, which has limited how much freedom mad scientists, such as Gigi, have to bring crazy new things to market. Do you think MotoGP has found the right balance between technology and rider input, or is there an area where you think the sport should perhaps allow a little more, or less?<\/p>\n Marc M\u00e1rquez: \u201cI mean, it is the way that we will go in 2027, trying to reduce the aerodynamics. For me, I would go even further in that direction, because now, with the aerodynamics, it is more difficult to overtake.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the past, if in practice you were two-tenths or three-tenths slower than another rider, you understood that if you did a good start and followed him in the slipstream, you were able to have that race pace.<\/p>\n \u201cNow, with aerodynamics and the way that we ride the bikes, if you are three-tenths slower than him, when you follow him you will be five-tenths slower than him. So it is even worse to follow a bike, so this makes it more difficult to overtake and have group races.\u201d<\/p>\n Where does electronic suspension fit<\/p>\n Trevor Hedge: On an electronic front, something that has been long banned in MotoGP, even before you started, is electronic suspension. It is now so advanced on production motorcycles that, to an average rider, it is unbelievable.<\/p>\n From your perspective, how does that technology feel? If it was tuned properly for the track, tyres, rider and conditions, do you think it could make an elite rider like yourself faster, or would you still need the absolute mechanical predictability of a conventional race set-up when chasing the last few hundredths?<\/p>\n Marc M\u00e1rquez: \u201cI would say it [electronic suspension] is safer. What we are doing in racing is developing many things, and most of them we try to translate to street bikes to make them safer.<\/p>\n \u201cBut if you want to be fast with a racing bike, sometimes you need to reduce the safety. You need to allow, for example, the rear tyre to slide more. That means putting the TC further away, and the suspension, as you say, trying to work more with the mechanical, the way you hit the bottom. All things that, for safety, are not the best. For a street bike, I would not say that is the best solution, but for a racing bike, yes.\u201d<\/p>\n The impact of readily available data on MotoGP<\/p>\n Trevor Hedge: These days you have an endless stream of data showing you where you gained or lost time compared to other riders. If you took all that away tomorrow and riders had to rely more on instinct, lap times and sector times, do you think the same riders would still be fastest? Has data made MotoGP riders better, or more alike?<\/p>\n Marc M\u00e1rquez: \u201cIt depends on the bike, and it depends on the riding style. For example, we have two clear examples: Bezzecchi and Mart\u00edn. When they were in Ducati, Mart\u00edn was much faster than Bezzecchi.<\/p>\n \u201cThen when they jumped to Aprilia, now he is leading Mart\u00edn. In the lap times, Bezzecchi was even faster than Mart\u00edn. So, is Bezzecchi better than Mart\u00edn? Is Mart\u00edn better than Bezzecchi? It depends on the riding style.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is true that the bikes we have now are easier to arrive at the limit with. So you reach one limit, and sometimes in qualifying practice, if you want to ride over that limit, you are even slower. You need to ride at the bike\u2019s limit, not faster.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is like a Formula One car. You need to be fast and precise, but if you are too aggressive and you slide, you are missing performance. So that is something you need to understand well.\u201d<\/p>\n Why 2027 may not be the instant fix fans expect<\/p>\n Trevor Hedge: Every major regulation change means riders have to adapt. From the brief experience you had with the 2027 prototype, and without discussing the tyres themselves, did your first impression leave you optimistic that the 2027 package could create different styles of racing and more overtaking? Could it be better for us to watch?<\/p>\n Marc M\u00e1rquez: \u201cAt the moment, I am not very optimistic about that. I would like it to be, but at the moment, based on what I\u2019ve tried, the bikes are more or less the same.<\/p>\n \u201cThe engine is less performant, but that also makes the braking points shorter. But the way we brake is harder. So, in the end, overtaking will be difficult, sometimes even more so.<\/p>\n \u201cThe bike is already quite powerful, even if it is 850 cc. From the grandstand, maybe you will not even realise. It is true that, for example, with 1000 cc on most straights, even here at Misano, we are not using the full torque. So, with that bike, we will use full torque from the exit of the corner.<\/p>\n \u201cThe biggest difference will be the tyres. Depending on the tyre, we will see one kind of race or another kind of race.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Marc](\"https:\/\/www.mcnews.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2026-WDW-Polish-Journo-Son-Kazik-Drzymulski-Age7-1.jpg\")
<\/a>Marc M\u00e1rquez spoke with MCNews.com.au at World Ducati Week about Ducati\u2019s working culture, Gigi Dall\u2019Igna, aerodynamics and the changing craft of riding a modern MotoGP bike.<\/p>\n<\/a>M\u00e1rquez was direct on the effect of modern aerodynamics, saying MotoGP bikes have become harder to follow and harder to overtake.<\/p>\n