Five things we learned from MotoGP’s Spanish GP

The battle between Ducati and Aprilia intensified at Jerez, as Alex Marquez beat an in-form Marco Bezzecchi to win the Spanish Grand Prix.

The weekend brought an end to Aprilia’s winning streak in MotoGP and marked Ducati’s first visit to the top step of the podium since last year’s Malaysian Grand Prix.

While it is easy to say that the first European round of the season offered the clearest indication of the competitive order, rain disruptions on Saturday meant Jerez did not offer a complete picture. That’s not to say Alex Marquez wouldn’t have ended the weekend on top if it had remained dry throughout, but the weather certainly compromised Aprilia’s preparations and limited its ability to make a bigger step overnight. 

Here are five things we learned from MotoGP’s Spanish GP.

Ducati is very much in the title fight, but lacks a clear leader

Alex Marquez put Ducati back on top - but who will lead the charge for the Bologna manufacturer?

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While no one was writing Ducati off after the opening flyaways, its response at Jerez was emphatic. Not only did the Bologna manufacturer halt Aprilia’s momentum, it also proved it can dominate races again in MotoGP. Of course, Jerez isn’t the quintessential European track, and there will be other venues where Aprilia could pose a stronger challenge, but the weekend underlined that the pendulum between the two Italian manufacturers will swing both ways over the season. 

However, while the four Aprilia riders are firing on all cylinders, with Jorge Martin emerging as both a reliable support act and a genuine contender alongside Bezzecchi, the hierarchy is less clear within Ducati. While Fabio di Giannantonio is enjoying a rich vein of form, he has yet to show whether he can mount a title challenge. Alex Marquez would be Ducati’s best bet if his elder brother cannot rediscover his form, but the Gresini rider’s poor results in the opening trio of races shouldn’t be ignored, even after his dominant comeback at Jerez.

Marc Marquez’s struggles run deeper than expected

A sprint win was overshadowed by a cost fall in the grand prix

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The Spanish GP was supposed to be the turning point for Marc Marquez’s 2026 campaign. The four-week break after Austin had allowed him to return to full fitness, while it was clear from practice that Ducati had a decisive edge over chief rival Aprilia. 

Yet, Marquez wasn’t able to capitalise on the situation, with an early crash ending his weekend prematurely. No one expected him to beat his younger brother in dry conditions, but the podium was the least he could have delivered in such circumstances. Instead, he made an error shortly after losing the lead and gave away 20 valuable points to Marco Bezzecchi. 

While such an error wasn’t entirely out of character for Marquez, the broader context of his season makes it more concerning. The incident also overshadowed his brilliant victory in the sprint, where he exploited the regulations - knowingly or unknowingly - to enter the pitlane at the right moment and switch to his wet-weather bike.

Marquez has already indicated he is not in a position to fight for the title - and that must give Ducati a reason to worry, especially with Francesco Bagnaia still not any closer to fighting for wins again.

Aprilia can’t keep leaving points on the table in sprints

Another sprint, another difficult Saturday for Aprilia

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It was always a matter of time before Aprilia’s winning streak came to an end in MotoGP. But while Ducati clearly upped its game at the Spanish Grand Prix, Aprilia again haemorrhaged
valuable points in Saturday’s sprint. Sure, there were mitigating factors at play, and Bezzecchi certainly can’t be blamed for his poor start this time - having seen a tear-off from Alex Marquez accidentally get stuck under his bike. But the Italian never really appeared comfortable in the first stint, and later became a victim of the conditions after switching to wet tyres.

No other Aprilia rider could step up after his retirement, with technical issues sidelining Martin and the switch to wet-weather bikes comprising the Trackhouse duo.

While Aprilia’s turnaround in the grand prix was again impressive, despite the lack of crucial dry-weather data from Saturday, it clearly needs to do more to improve its performance on soft tyres. The onus is also on Bezzeccchi to cut down on errors in Saturday races.

Qualifying is holding back Honda

Zarco took advantage of the damp conditions in qualifying to grab the front row and set himself up for a positive grand prix

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It was refreshing to see a Honda holding its own in a sea of Ducatis and Aprilias on Sunday. With the two Italian marques appearing stronger than ever before in 2026, breaking inside the top 10 has become increasingly harder for Honda and KTM. Pedro Acosta - and more recently Enea Bastianini - has shown that it is possible to mix with the Italian bikes, but Johann Zarco also put together a strong performance over the weekend to deliver Honda’s best result of the year.

The key to Zarco's seventh-place finish was his brilliant performance in wet conditions in qualifying, where he separated Marc Marquez and Fabio di Giannantonio to book a spot on the front row. The Frenchman was always going to drop down the order in the race, but to his credit, he did hold on to fifth until his Michelin tyres simply gave up.

It proved that if Honda can fix its one-lap weakness, it can emerge as a more potent threat in the final year of the 1000cc era. While Joan Mir wasn’t too encouraged by the result, insisting Zarco would have lost even more ground if the race was longer, his argument doesn’t tell the full story. Track position clearly played a role, but Honda’s riders have consistently been starting too far down the grid, and it continues to compromise their results. 

Enea Bastianini’s resurgence looks genuine

Bastianini led the KTM charge in Jerez

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Enea Bastianini’s performance in Austin last month was no fluke. The Spanish GP showed that the seven-time grand prix winner has found his mojo again, and he can even outperform Pedro Acosta when the latter is having a bad day.

Bastianini had struggled for speed across the opening two rounds of the season at Buriram and Goiania, by which time it was clear that he wouldn’t remain at KTM next year. But a return to Michelin’s more conventional tyres at Austin fixed the grip issues he was facing, and he was immediately knocking on the podium door. 

While eighth place in Jerez may not seem like a big achievement, it is important to remember that Ducati and Aprilia locked out seven places inside the top 10. So getting directly into Q2 and bagging a solid haul of points on Sunday actually constituted a rather good weekend for the Gresini-bound Italian.

It was also an encouraging sign for KTM. The Austrian marque has been struggling to find a second reference rider alongside Acosta. While pre-season testing had indicated that both Brad Binder and Maverick Vinales were on pace, neither has been able to match those expectations so far due to different reasons. Bastianini, who arguably appeared to be the weakest link in its line-up heading into the season, is now filling that gap in the line-up.

Various MotoGP tests will take place in Jerez this week before the paddock heads to Le Mans for the next round

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