MotoGP | Dall'Igna: “I regret Pecco and Marc, but any comment is superfluous”

“We can say that we are always protagonists… in every sense, positively but this weekend also negatively, in a race that concentrated all the emotions in the last two laps.”

Gigi Dall'Igna couldn't have described better what Sunday in Portimao was like for the Ducati world. The Borgo Panigale manufacturer achieved its 12th consecutive victory on Sunday thanks to a great Jorge Martin, but also had to deal with a big blow: the accident between Pecco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez which ousted both of them three laps from the term, when they were fighting for fifth position.

In the usual analysis which is published on the official website of the Borgo Panigale company, the general director of the racing department obviously wanted to start from the triumph of the Prima Pramac Racing standard-bearer, but also from the second place of a revived Enea Bastianini.

“A tenacious and fighter Jorge made his own a tough and difficult challenge, with many unknowns, managed and completed it with resistance, concentration and stubbornness without ever giving up. A well-deserved reward for his consistency demonstrated in the GP and throughout the weekend” , Dall'Igna said.

“Ducati also occupies the second step of the podium with Enea: character and determination for a result that is worth a lot. Today it was very important for him to be there at the front, he needed it, even more so on a track that he felt was his. We are at the beginning of the season and without a doubt this second place counts as a victory”, he added.

Inevitably, he then also had to touch on the hottest topic of Sunday in Portimao, even if the Venetian engineer preferred not to go too far: “Great regret for the accident between Pecco and Marc which denied both of them the possibility of gaining important points from a championship perspective in a complex match in which they couldn't play for the victory. Honestly, other comments are completely superfluous.”

Dall'Igna also commented on the difficulties encountered by Bagnaia during the Algarve weekend, on a track on which he had dominated 12 months ago with a double: “A difficult weekend in Pecco in which we were unable to find the right balance as we instead done other times, even if in the Sprint everything seemed to be going well until the mistake that cost him the victory. An uncertain feeling, constant fatigue, all this confirmed in the end in the worst way. We will have to understand why and remedy it immediately, without alarmism, this is what matters in the end.”

Finally, he closed with a more far-reaching assessment: “In any case… never let your guard down! This seems to be the leitmotif at the start of the season: we have seen and also already said, but it is good to reiterate, how everyone has improved, how numerous and fearsome our opponents are, even the youngest, with their enthusiasm, talent and speed, enterprising and without any awe. It will be a long, exciting Championship to be experienced together with our fans, race by race. Come on. Ducati!”.

Watch: MotoGP: Jorge Martin dominates Portimao | 2024 #PortugueseGP