Honda vs Yamaha: Which Asian will end the Ducati dominance in MotoGP?

MotoGP in the last few years was completely dominated by only one constructor, and it is none other than the Italian auto giant Ducati. Since the 2022 season, the Bologna-based brand has been the dominant force in the pinnacle of bike racing, with back-to-back title wins with Francesco Bagnaia.

Even last year, Ducati-backed Prima Pramac Racing rider Jorge Martin won the title driving a Ducati GP24 bike. Since Fabio Qartararo’s win in the 2021 season, Yamaha hasn't won any MotoGP titles, and Ducati has dominated the league for the last three years. So what happened to the Japanese suddenly as they lost their pace and performance compared with Ducati?

Lost in pace and time

The European Giants like Ducati, Aprilia, and KTM are faster than Yamaha and Honda. In the last few years, the Japanese giants have fallen the order and in the championship standings. Honda has become the most miserable brand, as they finished last in the 2024 season even behind their independent team LCR Honda. After Marc Marquez's huge crash at the start of the 2020 season, Honda lost their form and has been struggling.

To bridge the gap between Japanese and European brands, MotoGP has made some adjustments to give more freedom to the teams to develop the engines. It reflected in their results last year, where Honda and Yamaha scored 49 and 67 points in the last part of the season.

Yamaha has matched their star rider Fabio Qartararo with new teammate Alex Rins. Honda matched 2020 world champion Joan Mir with Luca Marini. Honda made more progress than Yamaha last year but remains behind them. Rins, who left Honda and joined Yamaha, has said he now has better cornering grip, traction, and more top speed. But they still have a long way to go to reach Ducati’s level. So it will take some more years for the Asian giants to triumph in MotoGP. But for now, Yamaha has more pace and performance than Honda.

Also read: KTM to exit MotoGP in 2026: A heartbreaking end to a great team.