Aleix Espargaro’s theory on Ducati’s Sprint-to-Sunday MotoGP leap

At least one other manufacturer has joined Ducati on the podium in each of the ten MotoGP Sprint races so far this season.

But by Sunday afternoon it’s been a very different story.

Ducati has won nine of the ten grand prix races and filled all three places on the podium for the past seven events in a row, since curing its chatter issues at Jerez.

Aprilia has provided Ducati’s main opposition, winning three Sprints and inflicting the only grand prix defeat on a Desmosedici his year, at COTA.

However, the American round is the only time an RS-GP has finished on the Sunday podium this year, compared with eight Sprint rostrums for the ‘men in black’.

So why does Ducati appear to take such a big step from Saturday to Sunday?

After celebrating pole position and then a close third place (+2.0s) in the Silverstone Sprint, Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro was helpless to prevent Ducati from filling the top five places (and seven of the top eight) in Sunday’s GP.

Aside from having more bikes and therefore data than any other manufacturer, Espargaro’s theory is that Ducati riders are ‘limited’ by front locking when running the soft rear tyre, as used for qualifying and most Sprint races.

That, Espargaro says, is also why Aprilia has been able to claim three pole positions this season.

But the Ducatis don't suffer as much front locking when medium or hard rear tyres are needed for the full-distance grand prix.

“With the soft tyre, it looks like they have some kind of limit,” said Espargaro, who took the flag in sixth place, 9.5s from Enea Bastianini on Sunday.

“I think it's the front, they have some kind of locking problem [because] the rear soft is pushing them [into the corners].

“So this is why in the Sprints we can be closer, this is also why in the qualifying we can be closer.

“But when there is a hard rear tyre, they have a lot of traction and they have no locking on the front, so it's difficult for me to fight against them.

“And today [at Silverstone] the classification speaks for itself.”

Espargaro, who won his home Catalunya Sprint alongside two pole positions this year, was making his 329th GP start on Sunday, putting him behind only Valentino Rossi (432) and Andrea Dovizioso (346) in the all-time ranking.

The 35-year-old will retire at the end of this season and switch to Honda test riding duties.

Team-mate Maverick Vinales, moving to KTM in 2025, remains the top non-Ducati in the current world championship standings, in fifth. Vinales struggled for rear grip on his way to 13th at Silverstone.

Ducati will be reduced to six bikes next season, when Pramac switches to Yamaha.