Ducati’s Sunday Dominance: Aleix Espargaro Unravels the Mystery Behind MotoGP’s Sprint-to-Grand Prix Shift

Aleix Espargaro’s hypothesis on Ducati’s improvement from Sprint races to Sunday MotoGP events

Aleix Espargaro explained: "This is the reason why we can stay competitive in the Sprint races and also during qualifying. However, when it comes to the main race…"

In each of the ten MotoGP Sprint races this season, Ducati has shared the podium with at least one other manufacturer.

However, by Sunday afternoon, the situation had changed significantly.

Since resolving its vibration problems at the Jerez race, Ducati has secured victories in nine out of the last ten grand prix events and has claimed all three podium positions in the past seven consecutive races.

Aprilia has been Ducati's primary challenger, securing victories in three Sprint races and handing Ducati their sole grand prix loss of the year at COTA.

Nevertheless, the American round marks the only instance this year that an RS-GP has secured a podium finish on a Sunday, while the 'men in black' have achieved eight podium finishes in Sprint races.

What explains Ducati's significant improvement from Saturday to Sunday?

Following a pole position celebration and a tight third-place finish just two seconds behind in the Silverstone Sprint, Aprilia's Aleix Espargaro couldn't stop Ducati from dominating the top five spots (and seven out of the top eight) in Sunday's Grand Prix.

In addition to possessing a larger number of motorcycles and thus more data compared to other manufacturers, Espargaro believes that Ducati riders face constraints due to front wheel locking when they use the soft rear tire, which is typically employed during qualifying sessions and most Sprint races.

According to Espargaro, this is the reason Aprilia has managed to secure three pole positions this season.

However, the Ducatis experience less front-wheel locking when medium or hard rear tires are required for the entire duration of the grand prix.

Espargaro, who finished in sixth place and was 9.5 seconds behind Enea Bastianini on Sunday, mentioned that the soft tyres seem to have certain limitations.

“It seems that the issue is with the front part, as there appears to be a locking problem which is being exacerbated by the rear's softness pushing them into the corners.”

"This explains why we can have closer competition during the Sprints and why we are more evenly matched in the qualifying sessions."

"However, when they use a hard rear tire, they gain significant traction without experiencing front-end locking, making it challenging for me to compete with them."

"And today at Silverstone, the results are clear."

Espargaro, who has secured victory in the Catalunya Sprint and achieved two pole positions this season, competed in his 329th Grand Prix on Sunday. This milestone places him third in the all-time standings, trailing only Valentino Rossi with 432 starts and Andrea Dovizioso with 346 starts.

The 35-year-old plans to retire after this season and will transition to a role as a test rider for Honda.

Maverick Vinales, a team member set to join KTM in 2025, is currently the highest-ranked rider who isn't on a Ducati in the world championship standings, holding fifth place. At Silverstone, Vinales faced challenges with rear grip and finished in 13th position.

Next season, Ducati will have only six motorcycles as Pramac is set to transition to Yamaha.

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