MotoGP’s 2026 season reaches Japan for the first of its five extra-European events, with Mobility Resort Motegi offering Ducati Lenovo Team a circuit packed with recent success. Francesco Bagnaia has won the Japanese Grand Prix in both 2024 and 2025, while Ducati’s broader record at the track stands at nine victories. The weekend therefore brings two different storylines into the same garage: Marc Márquez is trying to move back into the fight at the front of the championship, while Bagnaia returns to a circuit that has produced his most recent Grand Prix win and two consecutive victories.

Motegi also has a direct connection with two Ducati riders’ world titles. Casey Stoner secured the riders’ championship there in 2007, and Marc Márquez did the same in 2025. Ducati’s nine wins at the circuit include Loris Capirossi’s three-success run, which began with his first Motegi victory in 2005, and Bagnaia’s back-to-back successes in the last two editions. The 2025 results underline how strong that recent run was: Bagnaia won the Grand Prix and the Sprint, Márquez was runner-up in the main race, and Joan Mir completed the podium for Honda.

Márquez wants to rejoin the front battle

Márquez arrives in Japan second in the riders’ standings with 294 points. His previous round at Spielberg ended with second place in the Sprint and second place in the overall classification, a result that kept him close to the leading positions despite a difficult weekend. Ducati presents Motegi as an opportunity for the #93 rider to make full use of the Desmosedici GP package and return decisively to the fight at the sharp end.

The Japanese round also carries a personal significance for Márquez. He has described the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix as an unforgettable memory because of the bond it created with Ducati Lenovo Team, while the reception from Japanese fans provides additional motivation. His view of the circuit is straightforward: Motegi is a track he enjoys, and the immediate target is to perform well and remain competitive. That combination of a strong recent result, a favourable memory and Ducati’s record gives him a clear platform, although the result still has to be built across the Sprint and the Grand Prix.

Bagnaia returns to his latest winning venue

Bagnaia is ninth in the riders’ championship on 156 points. Ducati describes his Austrian weekend as a positive step: he recovered better feeling and returned consistently to the points after a difficult period. Japan is one of his favourite destinations, and his two latest Motegi victories provide a particularly relevant reference before the 2026 event. Bagnaia has also identified Motegi as the place of his most recent win, a positive thought as he begins the weekend.

At the same time, Bagnaia’s own assessment leaves room for caution. He has said that the Austrian weekend still involved a great deal of struggle even though the team recovered points, and that continued work is needed to regain the best riding feeling. The Japanese circuit may suit the Ducati and his record there is unusually strong, but the objective is not simply to repeat the past. The factory rider must turn that historical advantage into a competitive 2026 package while defending a sequence that currently belongs to him.

The championship context

Ducati has 432 points in the constructors’ classification, while Ducati Lenovo Team has 450 points in the teams’ standings. The riders bring substantial career records to the same weekend. Márquez has made 298 Grand Prix starts: 220 in MotoGP, 32 in Moto2 and 46 in 125cc. Those appearances have produced 104 wins—78 in MotoGP, 16 in Moto2 and 10 in 125cc—along with 170 podiums, divided into 131, 25 and 14 across those categories. His record also includes 21 Sprint victories, 105 pole positions and nine world titles.

Márquez’s nine championships comprise seven in MotoGP, in 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2025, one in Moto2 in 2012 and one in 125cc in 2010. Bagnaia has 249 Grand Prix starts, made up of 144 in MotoGP, 36 in Moto2 and 69 in Moto3. His 41 wins break down into 31 in MotoGP, eight in Moto2 and two in Moto3; his 86 podiums comprise 63, 16 and seven respectively. He has 14 Sprint wins, 35 pole positions and three world championships: MotoGP titles in 2022 and 2023, plus the Moto2 crown in 2018.

Motegi’s 2025 reference points

Mobility Resort Motegi is located in Japan and measures 4.8 km. Its 14 corners are divided between eight right-handers and six left-handers. The circuit record belongs to Bagnaia, who set a 1:42.911 lap on a Ducati in 2025. Márquez recorded the highest listed speed at the track in the same year, reaching 320.4 km/h. Bagnaia also owns the listed 2025 fastest race lap, a 1:44.412 effort, while his pole position came with the 1:42.911 record-setting time.

The planned Japanese weekend includes a 12-lap Sprint and a 24-lap Grand Prix. The 2025 results give Ducati a useful benchmark for both sessions: Bagnaia won the Sprint, took pole and won the main race, with Márquez second and Mir third in the Grand Prix. Those figures explain why Motegi occupies such a prominent place in Ducati’s recent racing story, but they do not remove the different demands facing the two factory riders in 2026. Márquez needs to convert his championship position and Spielberg momentum into another front-running weekend; Bagnaia needs to recover his preferred feeling while extending a two-year winning sequence. Japan is the first test of Ducati’s extra-European campaign, and Motegi arrives with both the past and the standings applying pressure.