MotoGP | Domenicali: “Marc’s choice is very divisive, but especially in Italy”

In recent weeks there has been a lot of talk about Ducati and its choices for the future, because in the MotoGP paddock the widespread feeling is that the Borgo Panigale company may have sacrificed too much to focus on Marc Marquez’s arrival in the official team.

Jorge Martin and Marco Bezzecchi will be two official Aprilia riders in 2025, while Enea Bastianini will go to strengthen the ranks of KTM. The last farewell, but only in chronological order, was that of Pramac Racing, the team closest to that factory of the Red, which from next year will go to strengthen the ranks of Yamaha, with the owner Paolo Campinoti who did not mince his words in saying that he did not agree with the choices made at the gates of Bologna.

Last weekend, in Assen, there had already been a first response from the general manager of Ducati Corse, Gigi Dall’Igna, who had tried to defend his choices. At the Sachsenring it was the turn of the CEO Claudio Domenicali, who commented on the situation to the microphones of Sky Sport MotoGP.

“A lot of things have happened, we’ve read a lot, different types of comments. It’s clear that we’ve dealt the cards a bit, then when the domino effect starts, a series of choices happen that somehow lead to a different situation for next year. But it’s a bit the result of the choices we’ve made: from afar we’ve chosen to focus on young people like Pecco and bring them up,” Domenicali said.

“When young people become world champions, the new young riders who arrive have a harder time finding a place. It was impossible to keep everyone, it is the result of a choice to also focus on the development of the 2027 bike. Nobody talks about it, but it must be done very well, so it is very important to think about what we are doing today in this beautiful championship, next year and beyond”, he added.

The reactions to the choice to focus on Marquez and let Martin go have been varied and some even quite harsh, even if according to Domenicali the character Marc is criticized more than the rider. And it mainly concerns national borders.

“It was a very difficult choice for us, because we love Jorge so much. So the choice was Jorge or Marc. Jorge has been with us for a long time, he is very strong. It was very difficult. Time will tell if it was the right choice or not. Marc’s choice is very divisive, much more in Italy than in the rest of the world because of his history and what happened in the past. From what I read, no one questions his talent, but several have very different opinions about his history”.

What is certain is that many of the main assets that Ducati has been able to count on in recent years have gone to strengthen the competition, so Domenicali was asked if there is a fear of having perhaps strengthened it too much. And here also came an answer to the accusation of having changed the strategy advanced by Campinoti.

“We hope not, in the sense that we need the riders, the bike, the technique. We need to dose our energies well. There is also a general problem of sustainability in this environment, several companies are making choices that in my opinion are not very sustainable, but that is my opinion. We pay great attention to ensuring that the company is a whole, the races, the company, the families in Borgo Panigale”.

“Balancing what we spend to develop the bike with what we spend on the riders. I would like to make a small point: I heard that we are changing strategy, that we no longer have young riders. I think this is denied in fact, because we have Fermin Aldeguer, who is one of the promising riders who will be with us next year. Not only are we not changing it, but we also want to strengthen it”.

Now the market has to be completed, because there are still three spaces to fill in the satellite teams (Alex Marquez has renewed with Gresini). The next knots to untie are the possible permanence of Fabio Di Giannantonio in VR46 and the team that will support Aldeguer.

“Diggia is a rider we like a lot and with VR we are working to bring home this goal. He is a rider who has grown a lot, we would be happy if we could manage to keep him. We are also close, this is a good thing. For Aldeguer, we will have to decide how the boxes fit together, what is the best aspect between VR46 and Gresini”.