Ducati has been a contender for MotoGP titles since 2021 but missed out on the riders’ championship last year. Francesco Bagnaia from the factory team finished second behind Jorge Martín, who, despite riding a Ducati, was part of the Prima Pramac satellite team.
Ducati Corse General Manager Gigi Dall’Igna explained to Motorsport.com why he ensures equal opportunities for all Ducati riders: ‘This has always been a bit of my philosophy. I think that, from this perspective, providing all Ducati riders with the best possible equipment helps raise the overall level of the system, which ultimately benefits the factory team as well’.
The engineer, who has played a pivotal role in Ducati’s success, elaborated: ‘As I always say, it’s important to back a strong rider, but in the end, it’s tough for the others because, ultimately, there’s always one team that’s more important than the others. It’s obvious that the factory team is more important than the satellite teams because they are our partners – partners who pay and support us in various ways to associate their brand with ours’.
Even without a riders’ title, Dall’Igna believes Ducati’s partners have no reason to be dissatisfied: ‘From an overall perspective, in my opinion, victories are personal –they are for me, for Pecco, for Martín, for [Claudio] Domenicali. But, when you think about it, what truly matters to brands is remaining competitive over time. Honestly, I think all our partners can be happy because, for the fourth consecutive year, we are the team fighting for the world championship. All the brands that believed in us were rewarded because, in a sense, they received the visibility they sought’.
Ducati’s case as a motorcycle brand is different, according to the Italian: ‘For Ducati, it’s obvious that being part of motorcycling history and having the brand etched in the record books is vital. Winning world championships is essential for that. But for all other brands, in my opinion, the most important thing is to stay competitive over time’.