Marc Marquez and Pecco Bagnaia are pinning their hopes on Le Mans. The two Ducati riders have had little to show for themselves so far this season. The Spaniard has suffered a few too many crashes, while the Italian hasn’t been able to get the most out of the GP26. The only bright spot for the Borgo Panigale factory team was the Sprint race at Jerez, where they secured a one-two finish aided by adverse weather conditions and a bit of luck.
The tests on Monday after the Spanish GP were important, and perhaps in France we’ll see the aerodynamic updates tested that day. The Bugatti circuit has certainly been historically kind to Ducati, which has won there every year from 2020 to 2024 (with Petrucci, Miller, Bastianini, Bezzecchi, and Martin).
It won’t be easy to repeat that feat this year, but Marquez is optimistic:“Le Mans is a track that I like, and where I was already very fast last year with the Desmosedici GP. It will be a weekend with many unknowns: the weather might give us some surprises. In any case, we worked well at Jerez. Aside from the crash, we were competitive, and also we made a good step forward on Monday.”
His teammate Bagnaia is also eager to bounce back and put together a weekend as a front-runner.
“I am happy to go to Le Mans; on paper, it’s the kind of track that can best enhance the character of the Desmosedici GP,” said the rider from Piedmont . “After the test, I remained satisfied: we tried some convincing solutions that can give us a hand not only here but also on other types of tracks. We hope for good weather and continue to work to get closer to the strongest.”