For months, the paddock viewed Ducati's statements with a degree of caution. With each victory, each spectacular comeback, each demonstration of skill by Marc Marquez, the Borgo Panigale team repeated the same line: the Spaniard isn't yet at 100%. After hearing this phrase so often, many had come to see it as a standard PR tactic. After Brno, this hypothesis becomes much harder to defend. Because this time it's Davide Tardozzi speaking.
And above all, he doesn't just evoke sensations or feelings. He precisely describes what he sees on the track. Anyone who knows racing, anyone who understands motorcycles, watching Marc today, perfectly understood what we are saying: On the right, unfortunately, it's not quite there yet. »
The observation is disturbingly accurate. He was very fast in left-hand turns. However, when he had to turn right, he lost some speed, or he would get stuck. This indicates that, unfortunately, It's not yet at 100%I believe, and I hope, that in a month or two he will be able to recover from this situation. But in Brno, he delivered an extraordinary performance »
And that's precisely where the real issue begins. Because Marc Marquez has just strung together two consecutive victories. Because he has made up sixty-two points from Marco Bezzecchi since Mugello. Because he came back from 102 points to just 40 points behind the league leader.
And because Ducati He simultaneously states that he is still racing with significant physical limitations. In other words, the paddock is faced with an extremely uncomfortable question: What will happen when Marc Marquez will he truly regain his full capabilities?
Tardozzi no longer even tries to downplay the importance of the phenomenon. With Marc Marquez, anything is possible.That's Marc Marquez. We can't think he's incapable of extraordinary feats.. »
Davide Tardozzi: “ It was a hard-fought victory. Marc Marquez possesses extraordinary mental strength. »
At DucatiNo one seems surprised when a physically impaired driver wins Grand Prix races. Because that driver's name is... Marc MarquezAnd because his history has already demonstrated on numerous occasions that he sometimes operates in a category of his own. Perhaps the most striking example remains the image of his arrival at Brno.
Visor raised. Face closed off. Body exhausted. Marc Marquez seemed to have expended more energy on this race than on some of his most dominant victories of the past. Tardozzi confirmed it. It was a hard-fought victory. Marc possesses extraordinary mental strength. »
Then he adds: “ Even though he wins races, like at Balaton and here, I maintain that Marc isn't at 100%. We know that. We're not saying it to hide anything or make excuses. We talk to him, and he's honest. We talk to his doctors, the surgeon who operated on him, and his manager in Madrid. So we know perfectly well that he is not well »
This changes the perspective considerably. We are no longer in the realm of printing. We are in the realm of medical monitoring. Ducati knows exactly where his pilot is. Ducati He continues, however, to assert that it is still diminished.
The Conclusion of Pandaemonium Tardozzi is almost worrying for the opponents of Marquez that holds the top spot. " If he doesn't get well, it will become a very serious problem for everyone."Rarely has a team leader summed up the situation so bluntly. Because the problem of Marco Bezzecchi, George Martin, Fabio DiGiannantonio or Pedro Acosta is no longer just the Marc Marquez The current problem could be the one that's coming.
In this context, the championship takes a completely different turn. Officially, Ducati refuses to talk about the title. I don't want to talk about the league. Right now, our absolute priority – and I mean it sincerely – is for him to get back to full fitness. »
Poetry in motion ✨#CzechGP 🇨🇿 pic.twitter.com/J4XgNTSLNC
- MotoGP @ 🏁 (@MotoGP) June 21, 2026
A logical statement. But hard to fully believe when you look at the numbers. Two consecutive victories. Sixty-two points gained in two weekends. Only forty points behind. And nine Grands Prix still to go. The threat is now very real.
Especially Marc is not the only reason for satisfaction in Borgo Panigale. Pecco Bagnaia He too seems to be gradually regaining his form. His victory in the Sprint and his new podium finish on Sunday probably constitute his most complete performance in a long time.
Tardozzi He doesn't hide his optimism, either. I'm really happy for Pecco, because I think he's regaining his speed and, above all, his feel for the bike.." Then he adds: " Once Pecco finds that little something extra it's missing, which the engineers are working on, I think it will be competitive again.. " For ApriliaThis sentence is almost as worrying as those concerning Marquez. Because Ducati does not recover a pilot. Ducati seems to have recovered two suitors.
Finally, in the middle of this weekend marked by the victory of Marquez and the turbulence around BezzecchiTardozzi delivered on GP One A revealing comment about the league leader suspended in Brno. The only thing I can say about Bezzecchi is that he's a good person.I know him. These kinds of things can happen, but Bezzecchi is a good personand I don't think that will happen again in his entire life »
An elegant phrase. But one that doesn't change the overall observation. In Brno, Marco Bezzecchi lost points. Aprilia has lost his composure. And Marc Marquez He won much more than a race. He won something far more valuable: the fear of his opponents.
Because if Ducati He's right, if Marc Marquez is really only at 80 or 85% of his current physical capacity, so the forty points that still separate him from Bezzecchi suddenly look much less like a delay and more like a simple postponement.
