In Borgo Panigale, winter is rarely quiet. But this off-season leading up to the 2026 MotoGP World Championship seems more turbulent than usual. While attention is already turning to the 2027 rider market and the major regulatory overhaul to come, another rumor is circulating within Ducati Corse: Davide Tardozzi may no longer be the team principal of the factory team from 2027 onwards.
This is a hypothesis that is still unconfirmed, but increasingly insistent, fueled by internal tensions that are not new and by a 2025 season that has left deep scars.
According to several internal leaks from Borgo Panigale, relayed by The Gazzettathe relationships between Gigi Dall'Igna, general manager of Ducati Corse, and Davide Tardozzi have reportedly deteriorated considerably in recent months. This is due in particular to several factors. : the management of the Pecco Bagnaia case, and more specifically the communication surrounding its technical difficulties in 2025.
Tardozzi had publicly acknowledged that Ducati had understood too late the needs of the two-time world champion, particularly with regard to the front of the GP25These remarks were considered courageous by some, but were very poorly received internally, as they were perceived as a direct challenge to the work of the technical department led by Dall'IgnaThe official position of Ducati remained inflexible: the Desmosedici remains the absolute benchmark on the plateau, and the technical support provided to bagnaia would have been total.
This discrepancy in discourse contributed to weakening the position of Tardozzicaught between a pilot who is losing confidence and a technical management team that refuses any public self-criticism.
The 2025 season, a breaking point between Davide Tardozzi and Gigi Dall'Igna
From a sporting perspective, the 2025 season has further heightened the tension. bagnaiaUnable to rediscover the consistency and composure that had been his strength, he finished the year in a disappointing fifth place in the championship. Even more worrying: his chronic lack of confidence in the GP25This, sometimes expressed in contradictory ways, created a toxic internal climate in the garage. Ducati.
TardozziAs team manager, he found himself at the heart of this storm. Internally, some criticize him for... insufficiently clear communication managementunable to connect the dots between a driver experiencing psychological difficulties and a technical staff clinging to its convictions. The consequence would have been a gradual loss of confidence, both on the part of bagnaia than from the management.
In this context, the prospect of a natural end to the contract of bagnaia with Ducati Factory by the end of 2026 now appears as a logical epilogue, if not already decided behind the scenes.
According to these persistent rumors, Ducati would already be thinking about the post-Tardozzi eraAnd the names mentioned paint very different profiles, but all are credible.
The most natural solution would be Michele PirroHistoric test pilot of Ducati Corse, trusted man of Dall'IgnaPirro is preparing to compete in his last full season in 2026 in the CIV championship with his Garage 51 team. 40 yearsHis move to a leadership role would appear logical, driven by an intimate knowledge of the structure and an unwavering loyalty.
Another serious lead: Gino BorsoiThe current team manager of Pramac, today at Yamaha , remains one of the major architects of the greatest recent successes of Ducati satellite side. World pilots champion in 2024 with George Martin, team champion in 2023, Borsoi demonstrated a rare ability to manage top-level pilots while maintaining exemplary technical and human cohesion.
Finally, a more “political” option, but appealing on paper: Francesco GuidottiExperienced manager, with a background in Aprilia, Pramac and more recently Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Until the end of 2024, the Tuscan boasts an impressive CV and natural authority. Ironically: Guidotti could find Marc Marquez in Ducati, nearly twenty years after their first cross paths in the paddock.
Davide Tardozzi embodies a powerful era Ducati Corse That of reconquest, titles, and a highly visible, sometimes emotional, always passionate, human-centered management style. But at Borgo Panigale, loyalty has never been an inviolable principle. Only performance, strategic alignment… and mastery of the message matter.
If the separation were to be confirmed after 2026, it would not be the result of a brutal failure, but rather the wear and tear of a balance that has become too fragile, like in a modern MotoGP where internal politics sometimes weigh as much as lap times.
Nothing is official yet. But in the paddock, when names start circulating so clearly, it often means a decision is already taking shape.
