The dominant force of international motorcycle racing in recent years, while its 2025 campaign didn’t quite yield the much-coveted MotoGP-WorldSBK double, Ducati is certainly well placed to make amends this year.
After Pecco Bagnaia in 2022 and 2023, followed by Jorge Martin in 2024, it was Marc Marquez’s turn to steer the Ducati Desmosedici to a fourth consecutive MotoGP title in 2025 and he is odds-on to make it back-to-back success in 2026.
In WorldSBK, Ducati will once again have strength in numbers, while Nicolo Bulega – the begrudging runner-up to Toprak Razgatlioglu for the past two seasons – is big favourite to assume the championship throne in his rival’s absence.
2026 MotoGP World Championship
Teams and Rider Line-Ups:
Ducati Lenovo Corse – Marc Marquez, Pecco Bagnaia
Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing – Fabio di Giannantonio, Franco Morbidelli
BK8 Gresini Racing – Alex Marquez, Fermin Aldeguer
The decision to promote Marc Marquez to a full factory Ducati MotoGP ride for 2025 certainly caused a stir and certainly raised questions as to whether the Spaniard – who rattled off six MotoGP titles in seven years on Honda machinery – could tap into that form years later.
In the end, it took mere moments for those questions to be answered, Marquez dominant in the first race of the season before proceeding to repeat the feat over and over again for the remainder of the year.
In the 30 races he started, Marquez topped the podium in an extraordinary 22 of them, generating a points lead so big he could afford to skip the final four events through injury… and even then, he’d still win by 78 points.
Marquez returns to head up the Ducati tilt in 2026 as the hot favourite to make it eight MotoGP titles, though he faces stiff opposition from within his own ranks with double title-winner Pecco Bagnaia expecting to be rejuvenated after a tough 2025.
He faces yet more competition from within his own family as Alex Marquez bids to make another big step on the Gresini Ducati after a breakthrough 2025 that yielded six wins and the runners-up spot overall.
He will be joined at Gresini again by Fermin Aldeguer, the standout rookie of 2025 who – after achieving a victory in Indonesia - is tipped for even greater things this season.
The Pertamina Enduro VR46 Ducati team – owned by Valentino Rossi – also sticks with the same line-up with Fabio di Giannantonio and Franco Morbidelli chasing the top of the podium in an all-Italian effort.
2026 WorldSBK Championship
Teams and Rider Line-Ups:
Aruba.it Racing Ducati – Nicolo Bulega, Iker Lecuona
Barni Racing – Alvaro Bautista, Yari Montella
Marc VDS Racing – Sam Lowes
Motocorsa Racing – Alberto Surra
Team PATA GoEleven – Lorenzo Baldassarri
Optimum Express MGM Racing – Tarran Mackenzie
Ducati again dominates entry numbers for the 2026 WorldSBK Championship, the manufacturer’s challenge headed up by Nicolo Bulega.
The Italian earmarked himself as the only rider capable of taking the fight to Toprak Razgatlioglu in both 2024 and 2025, so stands out as the man to beat now the Turkish rider has vacated for the bright lights of MotoGP.
Bulega does get a new team-mate on the factory Aruba.it Ducati Panigale V4 R though with Iker Lecuona getting the nod after four eye-catching seasons on the temperamental Honda package.
Most likely, Ducati will continue to be ably represented by a dogged band of privateer teams as a complement to its WorldSBK efforts.
That front is headed up by Barni Racing, which has secured a coup in landing three-time WorldSBK Champion Alvaro Bautista to its midst. He is joined by up-and-coming youngster Yari Montella.
Sam Lowes and Tarran Mackenzie fly the flag for Britain in their respective Marc VDS and Optimum Express MGM Racing teams, while Italian duo Alberto Surra (Motocorsa) and Lorenzo Baldassarri (GoEleven) complete the eight-strong line-up.
2026 British Superbike Championship
Teams and Rider Line-Ups:
Nitrous Competitions Racing – Kyle Ryde, Glenn Irwin
Hager PBM Ducati – Scott Redding
Moto Rapido Racing – Leon Haslam
Superbike Advocates Racing – Tommy Bridewell
It’s a big year ahead for Ducati at British domestic level with its ranks swelling to feature at least four teams running the latest Ducati Panigale V4 R.
Familiar partners Hager PBM and Moto Rapido Racing are back after both achieved race-winning success in 2025. Ex-MotoGP rider Scott Redding is back for a full-time campaign with the former, while Leon Haslam sticks with the latter.
New to the Ducati fold, however, is Nitrous Competitions Racing, which brings the #1 plate and reigning champion Kyle Ryde with it following a switch from Yamaha machinery.
Ryde heads into the 2026 BSB season eyeing a third straight riders’ title, while Glenn Irwin makes the welcome return to Ducati machinery after his campaign with PBM was curtailed last year.
Finally, the all-new Superbike Advocates Racing team mounts an inaugural bid for title glory in 2026. The team has shown it means business by hiring Tommy Bridewell for its maiden season.
The last time the fan favourite threw his leg over a Ducati, he’d clinch his first, long-awaited title in 2023.
2026 Isle of Man TT & North West 200
The 2026 Isle of Man TT is still just a dot on the horizon in the schedule so expect there to be more announcements – potentially with Ducati machinery – further down the line.
For now, however, there is one confirmed Ducati entry with Ian Hutchinson – who famously scored full house of five TT wins in – will tackle the Supersport TT races on a Ducati Panigale V2 prepared by Burrows Engineering/RK Racing.
Ducati at Vertu Motorcycles
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