Ducati has slipped out of MotoGP's top concession tier for the first time since the current system was introduced at the end of 2023, a symbolic marker of how far the field has closed on the sport's benchmark manufacturer.
The concession framework sorts each factory into one of four ranks — A through D — based on a rolling tally of constructors' points scored over the previous 12 months, reassessed at the summer break and again at the end of the season. Rank A is reserved for manufacturers scoring 85 percent or more of the points available; Rank B covers 60 to 85 percent, Rank C 35 to 60 percent, and Rank D anything below 35 percent. The lower a manufacturer's rank, the more testing, tyres, engine development and wildcard appearances it is handed to help it catch up.
Ducati enters the break on 657 of a possible 777 points, or 84.56 percent — enough to drop it into Rank B by the narrowest of margins. As The Race noted, that leaves Bologna "just four points and 0.44 percent shy of the 85 percent rank A cutoff." It is the first time the Desmosedici project has been anywhere other than the top tier.
The practical effect is mixed. Sliding into Rank B actually unlocks perks Ducati has been denied as the runaway leader: the factory can now enter up to three wildcard races — banned entirely at Rank A — and receives additional Michelin test tyres.
Aprilia moves the other way, promoted from Rank C to join Ducati in Rank B on 561 points (72.2 percent) after a run of form that has turned Noale into a genuine title threat. The rise costs it some of the freedoms it enjoyed lower down: its wildcard allocation halves from six to three, and its testing tyre pool is trimmed.
KTM holds station in Rank C on 387 points (49.81 percent), still short of the break-even mark that would ease its concession support.
At the bottom, Honda drops into Rank D on 247 points (31.79 percent), below the 35 percent line that separates it from Rank C. Yamaha keeps it company on 183 points (23.55 percent). The bottom tier is the most generous: Crash.net reports it grants private testing with contracted race riders, extra engines, an additional aerodynamic update and a larger tyre allocation — the tools both Japanese marques need to climb back toward the front.
The reshuffle applies for the remainder of the 2026 season. It is also the last time these rankings will matter in their current form: when MotoGP switches to 850cc machinery and Pirelli tyres in 2027, every manufacturer resets to a standardised Rank B baseline, wiping the slate clean for the new technical era.
---