Ducati’s 2026 MotoGP bike details and big Marquez admission

A pleasing but not-that-different MotoGP 2026 livery took centre stage in Ducati’s launch event ahead of its latest title defence - but there was a lot more to dig into from behind-the-scenes at its presentation.Senior figures shed some light on the hotly-anticipated GP26 and its main areas of design focus, while Marc Marquez offered a fresh update on his ongoing recovery from the shoulder injury that forced him out of the final races of 2025 and the post-season test.The big news, however, is that Ducati and Marquez are making no secret of the fact they’re moving fast on a new MotoGP contract - while the factory future of team-mate Pecco Bagnaia looks as open as ever.Enjoy a 7-day free trial to The Race Members' Club: Sign up to our motorbike-only Riders tier on Patreon for our 2015 revisited series, ad-free listening and more.Follow the Race Moto channel on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠Check out our latest videos on ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

MotoGP is another step closer to the start of its 2026 campaign with the start of the ‘launch season’, with team presentation events held by Yamaha satellite team Pramac, Ducati satellite team VR46 and the works Aprilia team.Simon Patterson was on-site for all three across three days, and joins Valentin Khorounzhiy for a special edition of The Race MotoGP Podcast to discuss the teams’ presentations and outlooks for 2026.From Aprilia’s ongoing quest to find a title sponsor and admission that rival firms are chasing its riders with big-money offers, to Toprak Razgatlioglu’s debut in Pramac colours and VR46’s tweaked look, Simon and Val discuss the first MotoGP storylines of the year.Join The Race Members' Club: Sign up to our motorbike-only Riders tier on Patreon for our 2015 revisited series, ad-free listening and more.Follow the Race Moto channel on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠Check out our latest videos on ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The 2026 MotoGP roster isn't all that different to how it looked last year - and the teams are all the same - but there's a lot of reason to feel differently about many of the pairings.The Race MotoGP Podcast panel of Matt Beer, Simon Patterson, Valentin Khorounzhiy and Megan White try to articulate those feelings - in the tried-and-tested form of a line-up ranking.They also discuss the news of a significant leg injury to Ducati sophomore Fermin Aldeguer on the eve of the season.Join The Race Members' Club: Sign up to our motorbike-only Riders tier on Patreon for our 2015 revisited series, ad-free listening and more.Follow the Race Moto channel on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠Check out our latest videos on ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our usual end-of-year tradition at The Race MotoGP Podcast continues in 2025, as we select our aggregate top 10 of the riders in the premier class this season.Did all the race winners make the cut? How do we grade Pecco Bagnaia's season? Who comes out on top in the insanely close fight for second? And is Marc Marquez a unanimous first? Plus, we discuss why Marquez's dominance hasn't resonated outside of MotoGP as much as it should have.Join The Race Members' Club: Sign up to our motorbike-only Riders tier on Patreon for our 2015 revisited series, ad-free listening and more.Follow the Race Moto channel on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠Check out our latest videos on ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ahead of his MotoGP race debut in 2026, three-time World Superbike champion Toprak Razgatlioglu faces a weight of immediate expectation most rookies are spared from.Val Khorounzhiy is joined by Simon Patterson - who just spoke to Razgatlioglu at the FIM Awards end-of-year event in Lausanne - to discuss the Turk’s start to life in MotoGP, while we also hear from the man himself in one of the first interviews he’s given since beginning his premier-class test programme.What does Razgatlioglu expect in 2026? What is he currently working on? What does he make of the argent fan reaction to his controversial Jerez title showdown with his friend Nicolo Bulega - and what state does he leave World Superbikes in?Plus, we hear from the final-for-now MotoE champion Alessandro Zaccone and discuss why the series is not going into its eighth season next year.Join The Race Members' Club: Sign up to our motorbike-only Riders tier on Patreon for our 2015 revisited series, ad-free listening and more.Follow the Race Moto channel on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠Check out our latest videos on ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The 2027 rule changes mean MotoGP riders and teams are going to have to take massive early punts with their next deals.It’s kicking off already with reports that Pedro Acosta’s camp is already angling to get him onto a factory Ducati, but that certainly won’t be the only pre-Christmas plotting going on.Simon Patterson, Val Khorounzhiy and Matt Beer convene on The Race MotoGP Podcast to discuss that Acosta/Ducati possibility, where the resurgent Honda fits into the rider market machinations and who we really think deserves nice sweet-handling Aprilia and a reassuring hug from Massimo Rivola.BLACK FRIDAY: Get 50% off your first month when you sign up to our motorbike-only Riders tier on Patreon for our 2015 revisited series, ad-free listening and more.Follow the Race Moto channel on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠Check out our latest videos on ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Yamaha is embarking on a bold new chapter with its V4 engine - but how hard should it work to make sure Fabio Quartararo is part of that chapter?The Race MotoGP Podcast crew (Matt Beer, Simon Patterson and Valentin Khorounzhiy) tackles this question as part of a major Yamaha overview, and also field questions about the impact of Marc Marquez's absence on the end of the 2025 season in this Q&A special.Also discussed is Jorge Lorenzo's new coaching partnership with Maverick Vinales and a truly bewildering recent claim from the series boss about MotoGP racing on street circuits.BLACK FRIDAY: Get 50% off your first month when you sign up to our motorbike-only Riders tier on Patreon for our 2015 revisited series, ad-free listening and more.Follow the Race Moto channel on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠Check out our latest videos on ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The traditional post-season MotoGP test at Valencia effectively kicked off the 2026 season, so Matt Beer has made an exhausted and hungry Simon Patterson and Val Khorounzhiy join him for an extra edition of The Race MotoGP Podcast to talk about it.Toprak Razgatlioglu’s public MotoGP debut and some particularly eye-catching Aprilia developments - some with a clear eye on the 2027 rule changes - feature strongly, as well as the vibes erstwhile title rivals Pecco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin were giving as they put their horrible 2025s behind them. Plus the story behind the surprise appearance of the latest Valentino Rossi protege.Want more MotoGP podcast content? Sign up to our motorbike-only Riders tier on Patreon for our 2015 revisited series, ad-free listening and more.Follow the Race Moto channel on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠Check out our latest videos on ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Marc Marquez’s absence might make the end of the 2025 MotoGP season a deceptive picture, but Aprilia’s Valencia Grand Prix 1-2 and Ducati’s general woes since its new champion was hurt make for an intriguing winter.The Race MotoGP Podcast’s Simon Patterson, Val Khorounzhiy and Matt Beer debate how seriously we should take Aprilia’s late-2025 form and Ducati’s fluctuations since Marquez was hurt.Franco Morbidelli is one of those riders Ducati has to have big question marks over - was his bizarre crash on the grid at Valencia a last straw for his long-term career?We debate that plus the first serious criticism for Simon Crafar’s stewarding regime and where MotoGP should actually hold its season finale.FREE WEEK: Want to try before you buy on our bonus MotoGP content? You can view new content published on Patreon for FREE until the end of Tuesday 11th November Follow the Race Moto channel on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠Check out our latest videos on ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Marco Bezzecchi and Aprilia stole the show again in MotoGP, continuing their remarkable late-season run with an emphatic victory in the Portuguese Grand Prix at Portimao.But while Bezzecchi deserves to be seen as a legitimate challenger to Marc Marquez’s dominance coming into 2026, can the same be said about an ever-improving Pedro Acosta and a resurgent KTM - despite the fact they still cannot win? Val Khorounzhiy and Simon Patterson discuss this in an on-site episode, while also touching upon a potent Alex Marquez weekend that was just short of greatness, another 2025 low for Pecco Bagnaia and Nicolo Bulega’s eye-catching debut.Plus, was the stewards’ panel too lenient on Fermin Aldeguer - and what was going on with Joan Mir?FREE WEEK: Want to try before you buy on our bonus MotoGP content? You can view new content published on Patreon for FREE until the end of Tuesday 11th November Follow the Race Moto channel on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠Check out our latest videos on ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.