Ducati’s recent slump — centered on worsening front-end and braking performance — has become a clear wake-up call that has forced urgent setup and development work, team and industry figures said. Factory general manager Gigi Dall’Igna described the lackluster weekend in Austin as a wake-up call and warned the team must work hard on setup and development to regain winning form.

Engineers and riders pointed to a loss of front-end grip and weaker braking and corner-entry performance versus the Aprilia RS-GP; those problems have cost Ducati tire life and race pace and have materially affected early 2026 results.

Sources