The 2026 MotoGP championship enters its final five rounds with Ducati and Aprilia locked together in both the riders’ and constructors’ standings. Jorge Martín holds a two-point advantage over Marc Márquez, while Marco Bezzecchi sits third, 46 points from the lead. At this stage of a MotoGP season, the gap between the top two has never been smaller.

A title fight tied to the past

For Gigi Dall’Igna, this is more than a contest between two manufacturers. He worked at Aprilia before joining Ducati in 2013, and both Aprilia riders also have links to his current employer. Martín won the 2024 title with Pramac Ducati, then signed for Aprilia after Ducati selected Márquez for its factory seat. Bezzecchi, who had been contracted to VR46, likewise moved to Aprilia after finding no path to progress within Ducati.

Speaking in Indonesia, Dall’Igna described the situation as a fight against his past, referring both to Aprilia and to the two riders who had previously worked with him. He added that he has many friends at Aprilia and would rather see them beat Ducati if someone has to do it. Aprilia currently has two riders in the top three, while Márquez is Ducati’s only realistic title contender. Dall’Igna would nevertheless prefer to have more than one of his riders in the championship fight.