MotoGP heads to Styria for the 15th round of the 2026 season, taking Ducati Lenovo Team back to the Red Bull Ring – Spielberg. For Ducati, the Austrian venue is more than another stop on the calendar. It was where the Desmosedici GP’s current winning history began in 2016, when Andrea Iannone returned the Borgo Panigale manufacturer to victory in MotoGP. That result started a sequence that has made the circuit one of the most productive venues in Ducati’s modern racing story.

Counting Jorge Martín’s victory in the 2021 Styrian GP, the Desmosedici GP has taken at least one win at the Red Bull Ring in 10 consecutive seasons. The record includes three victories for Andrea Dovizioso, three for Francesco Bagnaia, and one apiece for Andrea Iannone, Jorge Lorenzo, Jorge Martín and Marc Márquez. It is a substantial historical advantage for Ducati, although past performance cannot decide the outcome of the 2026 visit.

Márquez arrives with the strongest possible recent momentum. The team describes his Misano weekend as perfect, and he collected 37 points there. That haul completed a 102-point comeback and returned him to first place in the overall riders’ standings. Ducati also reclaimed the lead in the constructors’ championship. Márquez now has 274 points before the Austrian round.

Márquez said the Misano win gave him a major boost and highlighted the support of the Ducati fans. His task in Austria is to turn that confidence into another strong weekend while working with the team to maintain its current momentum. Ducati Lenovo Team also has a recent result to defend: Márquez won both the 2025 Grand Prix and the Sprint at the Red Bull Ring.

Bagnaia comes to the same circuit from a very different position. Misano was difficult, he said, because he struggled to find the right feeling with the bike, and the weekend ended with a crash in front of the fans. He is ninth in the championship on 143 points. Bagnaia nevertheless considers the Austrian track a venue that has historically suited his riding style. His immediate objective is to recover the right sensations from the opening sessions and put himself back into contention at the front.

The Red Bull Ring by the numbers

The circuit measures 4.35 km and features 11 corners: eight right-handers and three left-handers. Jorge Martín holds the lap record, set on a Ducati in 2024 with a time of 01:27.748. The highest recorded speed is 318.5 km/h, achieved by Ai Ogura on an Aprilia in 2025. The Sprint is scheduled for 14 laps, while the main race covers 28.

Last year’s results provide a clear reference point. Márquez won both races held at the venue. In the 2025 Grand Prix, Fermín Aldeguer finished second on a Ducati and Marco Bezzecchi third on an Aprilia. Bezzecchi also secured pole position with 01:28.60 and set the Grand Prix’s fastest lap at 01:29.533.

Ducati leads the constructors’ standings with 412 points, while Ducati Lenovo Team is second in the teams’ classification with 417. The factory riders bring considerable experience to the weekend as well. Márquez has 297 Grand Prix starts, 104 wins, 170 podiums, 21 Sprint victories, 105 pole positions and nine world titles. Bagnaia has 248 starts, 41 wins, 86 podiums, 14 Sprint wins, 35 pole positions and three world championships.

Those figures frame two separate challenges inside the same garage. Márquez needs to protect his championship lead and convert the confidence from Misano into another result. Bagnaia needs a clean and competitive beginning to the weekend, starting with the first track sessions, if he is to move back into the leading group. Ducati returns to a circuit where its record is unusually strong, but the current championship positions give the Austrian round a different importance for each rider.