Ducati has been the dominant force in MotoGP in recent years. It is the natural reference and example to follow, and its test rider, Michele Pirro, believes that the competitors will be there to give them a fight – in a year where there is a new concessions system that greatly limits the Borgo Panigale manufacturer in terms of bike development.
The Italian rider told GPOne.com: ‘There will be more of a battle to try to beat Ducati. It’s something I noticed last year when the Japanese showed up at the tests with many people. There is a desire to beat Ducati, which as an athlete is satisfying because we have become the reference, it took us several years to reach this level‘.
Pirro highlighted that Ducati will not lack strong opponents: ‘However, there is no shortage of opposition. KTM has taken steps forward and Yamaha is also working on the engine, and we have seen significant speeds both in Malaysia and Qatar, something that had never been seen by Yamaha before, the arrival of [Massimo] Bartolini will bring them that knowledge. Honda is starting from scratch, but they have many concessions, so they have a chance to recover. It is a championship with many ideas, and it is obvious that there will be the unknown of [Marc] Márquez returning to a competitive bike. I hope he returns to his past level and will certainly be in the mix’.
