MotoGP | Dall'Igna “very annoyed” by Bartolini in Yamaha

In Yamaha they are enthusiastic about the arrival of Max Bartolini as much as in Ducati they are annoyed, aware of the hole that the Italian leaves in the Borgo Panigale racing department and of the awakening that he can give to the Japanese brand. Bartolini's farewell was particularly painful for Gigi Dall'Igna, who lost his right arm, as well as a friend.

“Max worked with me for many years, he was a key person within Ducati Corse. Because of his experience and his knowledge of our bike, he will be able to give a lot to Yamaha,” says Dall'Igna in a telephone chat with Motorsport.com. “His farewell bothered me a lot. For his technical profile and for how he is as a person”, adds the engineer, who the entire paddock recognizes as the father of the current generation of Desmosedici, the dominating and champion prototype thanks to Pecco Bagnaia in the last two seasons. Despite the annoyance, Dall'Igna is aware of the opportunity that Yamaha offers to Bartolini, which is why he perfectly understands the fact that he accepted.

“Max has taken an important step forward in his career, so I understand the nature of his decision and I can't say anything about it. I recognize that it was impossible for him to refuse an offer like the one he received. He is part of the game and we must accept it,” continued the Venetian “guru”.

If Dall'Igna is one of those who most complains about this move in the technical market, while in Yamaha they are enthusiastic. The arrival of Bartolini, who arrived shortly after that of Marco Nicotra, a Yamaha aerodynamicist also taken from Ducati, responds to the requests of Fabio Quartararo, who for months, perhaps years, has been asking for a change in the way of working in Iwata. “Max brought serenity, a working method that gave us a lot of reaction capacity, in addition to everything he knows in terms of knowledge of his experience at Ducati,” Quartararo replied to the author of these lines. “It's not just what he knows, on a communication level it's fantastic. This is one of his strengths. He transmits good humor, asks a lot and also has a lot of empathy,” says another Yamaha member.

The idiosyncrasy of Japanese brands is particular and this, in part, is due to their distrust of what does not arise from their philosophy. Yamaha managers agree with this reading, which is why they placed Bartolini at the same level as Kazuhiro Masusa, the new leader of the M1 project. Both report to Takahiro Sumi, general manager of the brand's racing department, but from the same rank. “They put Bartolini in a boss position, as if he were Japanese,” adds this authorized voice.

At this point, it all depends on whether Yamaha will actually take this into consideration in the development of the M1. “If you hire two top-level players like Max and Marco, you have to let them work,” explains Quartararo. In this sense, at Ducati I agree with El Diablo on the fact that it would be absurd to have made this bet and not take advantage of it. “There are two possibilities: that Yamaha gives it importance and in this sense it will arrive soon. Or that they will have to adapt to Yamaha, but this would be a serious mistake,” said Davide Tardozzi, Ducati team manager.