Another weekend in the books, and for Davide Tardozzi, Marc Marquez and the entire Ducati Lenovo Team, it was a big one. The #93 now leads the World Championship by 10 points after his nearest rival, Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing), scored no points following a Saturday Sprint crash. Sunday’s Australian GP cancellation may have denied them the opportunity to extend their lead, but what are Tardozzi’s expectations ahead of Malaysia?

THE PICTURE: HOW THINGS STAND

Touchdown at Phillip Island. The gap sat at just two points, marking an important trip Down Under. Marc Marquez and Jorge Martin went head-to-head throughout the opening laps of Saturday’s Sprint, before everything was flipped on its head on Lap 8. Martin crashed at Turn 8, suffering a non-displaced fracture of the distal radius.

Martin was sidelined for the remainder of the weekend, with a further twist awaiting on Sunday as the Grand Prix was cancelled due to reduced visibility affecting the medical helicopter's ability to fly. The gap was left at just 10 points, with everything to play for ahead of Malaysia, although Martin’s participation remains unconfirmed.

Discussing the weekend, Tardozzi stated: "For Ducati, it's obvious that we missed an opportunity, but in the end the first thing we are always thinking about is rider safety in Ducati. And that's ahead of everything: sport, business and whatever.

"Martin made a mistake, but he was very, very competitive. I do not know if Marc would be able to beat him at the end of the race. I think that it was head-to-head until the end, but unfortunately, he made a mistake."

THE BEST IS YET TO COME

Astonishing. One of the many words which is currently being used to describe Marc Marquez’ 2026 campaign. From 102 points down to 10 points ahead, it’s been a year of consistent, stunning and most importantly, mature rides. Six GP victories and four pole positions are just some of the #93’s stats so far this season, further reinforcing the shift in mentality. Have we seen the best of Marc Marquez yet? Tardozzi doesn’t think so!

Tardozzi added: "I think the best races from Marc are something we will see in the future. Because he always surprises us. But in the end, what I saw yesterday [Australian GP Sprint] was that Marc was managing; he was thinking.

"I think that he will attack. Honestly, I think that in the next four races, there will be three races that suit Aprilia more and one that we can be faster than them. But in the end, we have Marc Marquez. And that's something that relaxes us."

CLOSEST CONTENDER(S)?

Ducati’s main contender? Aprilia, of course. But which rider? Tardozzi remains undecided as he points towards the Malaysian GP and Martin’s participation for the answer to that very question. He’s not counting Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) out either, with the Italian sitting just 50 points back. Another real title contender? Bring it on!

Tardozzi said: "It depends on Jorge's situation, because I have a huge respect for Marco. And again, I think that 50 points are nothing. I think that Marco has the potential to win every race from now until the end.

"On Jorge's side, it's obvious that his injury will make the difference, positive or negative. If he can be very competitive, that means not winning, because I don't think that he will be able to win in Sepang. For sure, Sepang and Qatar will tell us about his competitiveness."

There we have it. Just four rounds remain this season. Four rounds to decide the 2026 MotoGP World Champion. Join us for the final push on motogp.com!