When Jorge Martin took victory in the long race of the MotoGP Portuguese Grand Prix aboard his Prima Pramac Racing Desmosedici GP24, the Spaniard also secured Ducati's 89th victory in the premier class. Counting, obviously, only the long races, given that the Sprints have their own statistics and are counted separately.
The curious thing about the story, therefore, is the coincidence that the 89th victory of the Borgo Panigale manufacturer in MotoGP was achieved by the rider with number #89. But that's not all, because in Ducati's relatively short history in the premier class, which began in 2003, this is the fourth time the same coincidence has occurred.
In fact, you can see that the same thing happened with the 27th, 63rd and 72nd victory of the Bolognese brand in the MotoGP World Championship. The 27th was, of course, that of the legendary Casey Stoner, in the 2009 Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island.
The official team's Desmosedici, traditionally colored red, has switched to white for Sunday's race. For the Australian it was a special livery to compete in his home race. His teammate, Nicky Hayden, raced in the traditional red.
Casey Stoner, ahead of Valentino Rossi at the 2009 Australian GP
Subsequently, it was a motorcycle painted red that ensured Ducati's 63rd victory in the premier class of the World Motorcycle Championship, and on home soil. The winner was Pecco Bagnaia, in the 2022 Italian Grand Prix at Mugello, and with his #63, given that he did not yet have the World Champion number 1, which he wore in 2023 and keeps in 2024 after his two crowns.
Finally, it was Marco Bezzecchi who achieved Ducati's 72nd victory, riding the GP23 with the #72 of the then Mooney VR46 (now Pertamina Enduro VR46), in the 2023 Argentine Grand Prix at Termas de Rio Hondo. It was also the first MotoGP victory for Valentino Rossi's pupil and his team in the category.
Jorge Martin continued the tradition in the last Portimao Grand Prix. The question is whether this parallel will be repeated, and the only feasible scenario is linked to Marc Marquez and his #93: will he be able to give Ducati their 93rd affirmation in the top class?
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