The first round of the MotoGP season in Thailand left a bitter taste for the tifosi. Seeing Ducati dominated by Aprilia and beaten at the Buriram circuit fueled numerous concerns in the paddock. However, for Francesco Guidotti, the analysis deserves much more nuance. The former team director of Pramac Racing and KTM, now a commentator, believes the situation is far from alarming despite the disappointment of this first Grand Prix..
Interviewed by the magazine speedweek, Guidotti He was keen to put the results into context. According to him, the perception of failure stems primarily from the incredible dominance of Ducati in recent years under the leadership of the technical director Luigi Dall'Igna that holds the top spot. " Of course, the Thai GP appears as a real disaster for Ducati, but only compared to the past. In reality, a result like the one in Thailand is quite normal and, in my opinion, This is not a tragedy for Ducati. " he says calmly.
It is true that the weekend of Buriram held several surprises. In terms of pure speed, theAprilia proved formidable, and Marco Bezzecchi It finally secured a commanding victory on Sunday. Its performance gave the impression that the RS-GP had a clear advantage over the Borgo Panigale machines.
However, Guidotti He refuses to talk about a reversal of the hierarchy. According to him, the performance of the Italian driver also played a decisive role: Aprilia did an excellent job They reduced the gap. But Bezzecchi also made the difference at Buriram because he is one of the few drivers who appreciates the special carcass of Michelin tires, usually used only at Mandalika and on the Red Bull Ring »
The Thai weekend was also marked by several controversial incidents. During the sprint race, Marc Marquez had crossed the finish line in first place before being penalized by race control for an overtaking maneuver deemed irregular on Peter Acosta, thus offering the pilot KTM his first victory in the premier class. The following day, while the main race seemed to promise another strong result for Ducati, Marquez was forced to abandon due to a rim deformation and a puncture while he was fighting at the front.
For GuidottiThese circumstances largely explain the feeling of failure. Marc was back at the forefront after a long breakUnder normal conditions, he would have been on the podium twice at the start of this season; We couldn't hope for better. " he emphasizes. In other words, the real hierarchy would be much tighter than the raw results suggest.
Francesco Guidotti: “ Pecco Bagnaia is the only unknown to me within the Ducati team. »
The former manager also hasn't forgotten the performances of the drivers of VR46 Racing Team. According to him, Fabio Di Giannantonio et Franco Morbidelli showed an encouraging level of performance despite a difficult weekend. The VR46 drivers were also on par in terms of speed. Simply, The results did not reflect that.Diggia also experienced a minor technical issue that slowed him down, and Morbidelli, who started 19th after a very poor start, delivered one of his best performances; both were competitive. »
Guidotti also mentioned two particular cases in DucatiThe first concerns Alex Marquezwhose situation has changed dramatically since the previous season. I think Alex's case isn't so simple. It started in completely different circumstances than those of 2025.At the time, nobody was watching him and he had the freedom to run; His attitude was always positive. That has changed.Now, there are expectations related to factory support; in Thailand, This resulted in the car going off the track.In other words, increased pressure could explain some errors.
As for Francis Bagnaiahis case is more intriguing Guidotti that holds the top spot. " Pecco is the only unknown to me within the Ducati team. He showed this winter that he had the pace of the other Ducati riders, but he hasn't managed to translate that into race results. for no apparent reasonOverall, he did a good job. »
Despite these questions, Guidotti calls for caution. A single Grand Prix is not enough to judge the hierarchy of an entire season. “We can’t draw conclusions after just one Grand Prix, but one of the main objectives was for all the Ducati riders to perform well together, and they came close. They may have lost time in other areas over the winter,” but I don't consider this a major problem for Ducati »
In a championship as long and unpredictable as MotoGP, dynamics can change very quickly. And if Buriram has shaken Ducati's image of invincibility, Guidotti He is convinced: the season is still long, and Borgo Panigale's reaction could come much sooner than expected.
