Marc Marquez could benefit from 'insane' Ducati advantage in new MotoGP era

That could be excellent news for nine-time champion Marc Marquez, who has committed his future to the team through to the end of 2028.

The Italian manufacturer has dominated the sport in recent years, winning the last six constructors' titles and last four riders’ crowns.

Yet this term they sit behind Aprilia, who are showing no signs of relenting at the top of the standings.

However, even with a new order emerging, it likely won’t be around for long as MotoGP undergoes sweeping new regulation changes for the 2027 season.

Most notably engine capacity is decreasing from 1000cc to 850cc and there will be a reduction in aerodynamics, which could completely shake up the order.

But there’s also a switch to Pirelli tyres from Michelin, which could also have huge ramifications.

Ducati already run Pirellis in WorldSBK, and former MotoGP regular Pol Espargaro thinks it could be a huge advantage.

"It's easy to think that Ducati is going to be insane," the KTM rider told The Race.

"It's going to be fast from the first day because they have all the information from Superbike.

"At the end, it [the 850cc bike] is a kind of superbike - it's not changing much from Superbike.

"They [Ducati] are going to have some advantage, especially in how to treat the tyres, what they need to do on the tyres to make them better in the races, or to perform better over one lap.”

However, Espargaro then ruled out any idea that the sport will become uncompetitive.

He continued: "Apart from the beginning of the year, maybe some manufacturers are going start faster than the others.

“When everyone more or less is going be on the same level, even maybe second year, the competition is gonna be super close. But it will take time.”

Another hint of where the pace advantage may lie in 2027 came from a recent report from El Periodico.

The Spanish outlet has covered the battle over MotoGP’s controversial ‘one-bike’ proposal, a rule proposal that looks to have hit the rocks due to KTM’s opposition.

While it was marketed as a cost-saving measure, detractors argued that it would hamper bike comparisons and development during practice sessions, as teams could no longer directly compare new parts between two bikes.

El Periodico claims that proponents of the rule, Ducati and Aprilia, were for it for exactly that reason, as they believe they have an advantage for 2027 and want to slow the development race.