MotoGP | Dall'Igna: “If Marc wins with the 2023 bike it won't damage Ducati's image”

It's no secret that the coach was one of the protagonists of Marquez's hiring by Gresini Racing. Even though the Italian manufacturer has repeatedly reiterated that it has no influence on the choice of the Faenza team's riders, the operation would not have gone through without the approval of the Borgo Panigale manufacturer.

When rumors began to circulate that the #93 could leave Honda ahead of 2024 to get on a Desmosedici GP, Dall'Igna remained silent to let his colleagues speak, who always implied that Ducati considered it a problem the hypothetical arrival of the multiple champion, at a time when he had all his “beasts” under control.

Only later, when Gresini's hiring of Marquez was almost signed, the engineer was pushed to verbalize the injection of pride that meant for him that a rider of Marc's caliber would give up the stability of Honda in order to have a Ducati, which also would have been the previous year's model. The operation makes it clear that the Bolognese manufacturer gave priority to hiring the driver from Cervera over the problems that this could have caused for the rest of his team.

“Honestly, I don't see why Marc should be a problem for Ducati: is it perhaps counterproductive if a champion wants to race with your bike? We are looking for competitive riders who want to ride our bike, this is our goal”, added the famous technician , who in 2024 will try to repeat the great success that Ducati achieved in 2023, winning the riders' crown with Pecco Bagnaia and the constructors' crown, also beating all previously established records, including the number of victories in a year (17 in 20 events ).

The now well-established maxim that brands would almost rather lose a title than win it with the previous year's prototype seems to have expired, at least in the case of Ducati, if we are to believe the words of its general director. “If Marc wins the next championship it will be because he was the best and because he deserved it. The equation is very simple. I don't see how it could damage the image of Ducati. I have never considered whether the rider or the team counts more motorcycle. It's the combination that wins”, replied the engineer, who argued his position by looking to the past.

“For me it has never been a problem that someone won the World Championship with a prototype from the previous year. It has already happened in the past with bikes that I managed. Gabor Talmacsi won the 125 title on an Aprilia of year older than that of Hector Faubel, his direct rival. Marco Simoncelli was crowned 250 champion (2008) after starting the year with the previous year's bike, with which he won some races. Then at the end of the season had the new bike”, recalls Dall'Igna, before concluding: “My goal is to win, and I have to use all possible methods to achieve this. In the end it may happen that the new prototype does not improve the performance of the old one: where 'is the problem?'.