Ducati or Aprilia – which Italian manufacturer will clinch the Constructors’ World Championship?

Ducati Corse has been the technical poster child of MotoGP – and has been since 2021. The top honour among the factory teams has gone to Bologna five times in a row. In the era of the modern premier class (since 2002, following the phasing out of two-stroke technology), Ducati has thus caught up with Yamaha. Within Europe, the project is unique, as neither Aprilia nor KTM have secured a title in the Constructors’ World Championship during their time in the series.

By the end of 2025, the balance of power had shifted. Partly due to the concessions regulations introduced at the end of 2023, the Desmosedici’s dominance began to wane. When Aprilia took the lead after the Malaysian Grand Prix and triumphed in five consecutive Grand Prix races, the racing department from Noale found itself in the spotlight – and at the top of the manufacturers’ standings.

Aprilia-Nachbrenner: Das schnelle Trackhouse-Duo mit Ogura und Fernandez

Foto: Gold and Goose

This impressive development is not down to the performance of a single exceptional rider, but the result of a concerted effort by the entire Aprilia team. The Aprilia customer team, Trackhouse Racing, has shown the greatest leap in performance over the last 12 months. Both riders have won races and regularly featured at the front of the field. With four potential winners, they had not only caught up with – but overtaken – their rivals from Bologna. For although there are six Ducatis in the field, Marc Marquez had to do the heavy lifting in terms of points. Alex Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio shone too rarely in 2026.

Only the best rider from each manufacturer is counted

This is also reflected in the World Championship standings. The lowest-ranked Aprilia rider – Raúl Fernández – is in 7th place. Ahead of him are just two Desmosedici riders. Championship leader Marc Márquez, however, performed so successfully in his second season that Ducati also returned to the very top of the manufacturers’ standings. This is because only the most successful representative of each manufacturer is counted here. If, as in Mandalika, four Aprilia riders finish in the top four places and Marquez in sixth – then 25 points are awarded to Noale and 10 to Bologna. Earlier, in the Sprint race in Indonesia, Marquez won ahead of Aprilia rider Ogura – making it 12 to 9 and, in total for the event: 34 to 22 points.

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The starting position in the ‘Marc Marquez versus the rest of the Aprilia world’ contest could not be more exciting ahead of Round 21. Ducati heads to Portugal with an eight-point lead. No other championship across all GP classes is more closely contested at the top. A scenario tailor-made for an unprecedented showdown in the Constructors’ Championship. If an Aprilia rider takes the top spot in both races at Portimão and a Ducati rider finishes second in each, the two teams will go into the final two races of the season level on points. If the Ducati rider on the podium is Marc Márquez, the riders’ world championship will be decided even before the finale – but in the manufacturers’ championship, it would all come down to a nail-biting points battle.

In der Hersteller-WM liegt Ducati nur 8 Punkte vor Aprilia

Foto: Gold and Goose

This scenario is fuelled by the result from 2025, when Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia) won ahead of Alex Marquez (Ducati). Another intriguing factor: both favourite Marc Marquez and the combative Aprilia works rider Jorge Martin were absent from the 2025 race at the Algarve due to injury.

On the other hand, the ultimate Italian duel for the manufacturers’ title is shaping up to be a rather subdued affair. KTM has secured third place. Honda will finish the 2026 season in fourth place, just as it did last year. Trailing far behind, as in 2025, is Yamaha, 464 points adrift of the leaders.