MotoGP | Dall’Igna: “Bastianini leaving? I’m also here to accept criticism”

Ducati had a historic weekend at Silverstone: the Borgo Panigale manufacturer became the first to score seven consecutive MotoGP hat-tricks, but it also placed all eight of its Desmosedici GP machines in the top ten, repeating the feat achieved at the Sachsenring in 2023. Too bad that this time it did it on a track where last year it had only one in the top five.

The growth therefore seems evident and has not gone unnoticed even by the general manager of the racing department, Gigi Dall’Igna: “As always, we try to work on the problems and I think we have done a good job. We have certainly improved the GP24 in the aspects in which the GP23 was a little weaker. You could see it here, but also on other tracks. I have to say that the guys at home have really done a great job”, said the Venetian engineer to the microphones of Sky Sport MotoGP.

Indirectly, this confirms that even the “old” GP23 has made a step forward compared to 12 months ago: “As always, everything comes from understanding certain mechanisms and certain problems. When you understand certain things, then it is easier to apply the solutions, so even what can be improved on the GP23 we will do and continue to do so during the rest of the year”.

After the beautiful one-two finish by Enea Bastianini at Silverstone, inevitably there will also be some criticism in Borgo Panigale for not giving him another chance and having decided to focus on Marc Marquez for the future.

“I am extremely happy for Enea. Unfortunately we had to choose one pilot out of three, but all of them would have deserved to wear the official’s clothes. As I have always said, it was a very difficult choice from a professional and sporting point of view, but also from a human point of view. It is clear that I am also here to receive criticism and I accept it as it is right”.

With the dominance shown so far (it has won 9 of the 10 races contested and its riders occupy the first four positions in the World Championship), it is all too easy to think of Ducati as the favourite also in 2025, even if Dall’Igna prefers not to look so far ahead.

“Every year is a completely new book, so at the end of the year we will archive the 2024 book and open the 2025 book, which will depend a lot on how the various teams work over the winter. We already have some ideas that we are developing, but you never know what the others will be able to do, what they have to shoot in their cannon.”

“The most important thing is to ‘survive’ this year and then think about the next one. I’m happy with the performance of the bike, we’ve been at excellent levels for years and I hope to continue like this”, he concluded.