For the second consecutive year, the fight for the MotoGP title is between Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martín. Both are contractually tied to Ducati, although only Bagnaia is part of the factory team.
This is not the first time in history that two riders from the same manufacturer have battled closely and intensely for a title. A notable example occurred at Yamaha between Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi, in a rivalry that created such tension that the team was divided, with separate garages for each rider.
Gigi Dall’Igna, Ducati Corse’s General Manager, was asked by La Gazzetta dello Sport to compare this rivalry between Lorenzo and Rossi with the current battle between Bagnaia and Martín.
In the Italian engineer’s view, there are many differences: ‘Completely. The big difference is that rider management is entirely different. Back then, there was a wall, but now there is total data sharing, and Ducati is working to support Martín as well. Several engineers on the Pramac team are Ducati engineers. And, in any case, the work we do behind the scenes is exactly the same for both Pecco and Jorge. This needs to be emphasized’.