Superman had kryptonite, and Ducati – MotoGP’s machine that’s faster than a speeding bullet – has the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. For while the Bologna brand is more powerful than a locomotive seemingly everywhere else, it’s in Barcelona where the world championship’s benchmark bike – and its star rider Francesco Bagnaia – sheds its superhero status. Ahead of this weekend’s sixth round of the 2024 season, Ducati’s prowess is undeniable; Ducati riders have won 21 of the past 25 Grands Prix dating back to the beginning of 2023, and occupy the first four places in the 2024 championship standings.
Also indisputable; the 4.6-kilometre circuit in the municipality of Montmelo has become Ducati’s Achilles’ heel. Since Ducati last won in Barcelona in 2018, all of the other manufacturers in modern-day MotoGP have tasted victory.
Honda in 2019, Yamaha in 2020 and ’22, KTM in 2021 and Aprilia last year – it’s the single circuit that routinely tips the established order upside down. So why does the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya trip Ducati up so badly? The grip provided by the track is one factor, its layout another. The circuit – also used by Formula One – is one of the busiest in Europe with track days, junior series and other categories pounding around it year-round, and hasn’t been resurfaced since 2018.
The worn asphalt is smooth and slick, doesn’t grip up and is akin to a skating rink in hot weather, dulling Ducati’s class-leading power d.