ROMA – “Jorge will try to close the matter immediately by winning the sprint. Pecco will do everything to stay in the race until Sunday. Tomorrow will be a hot day. I? I will enjoy the race.” Claudio DomenicaliCEO of Ducati, on the eve of the last round of the season MotoGP in Barcelonalooks at his jewels fighting for the title – Martin is +24 on Bagnaia – with the serenity of someone who is already champion. “We have achieved this goal a long time ago, demonstrating that our bike is still the strongest. Tomorrow or Sunday evening I will celebrate a driver who is under contract with us. And on Tuesday a new adventure will begin.”
They say that a “help” for the official team rider, Bagnaia, will arrive in Barcelona from Borgo Panigale. Would the triumph of Martin – who races for Pramac, a satellite team – be a defeat?
“The facts speak clearly: since the beginning of the season we have provided Jorge and Pecco with the same material, with the commitment to never favor anyone. A precise, courageous but lucid choice: it favored competition between them. The level has been raised further: unbeatable. Why change at the last minute?”.
Who do you prefer of the two?
“Pecco was even faster, and he had won two World Championships. For now he has taken 10 GPs: the scoring system has not rewarded him as it would have been right. He made more mistakes, perhaps due to too much enthusiasm. Martin, pure explosiveness: I really liked him in the season finale, he was able to settle. At the moment they are clearly the strongest.”
At this moment, precisely: from Tuesday everything changes. Martin goes to Aprilia, Bastianini to Ktm. Marc Marquez new partner of Bagnaia in the red garage.
“I’m curious to see how it will go: so many changes, everything promises to be very stimulating. If Jorge puts the world champion number 1 on an Aprilia fairing, it will mean that he deserved it. No remorse on our part. On the contrary”.
But Marquez in Ducati will turn many people’s noses up.
“Marc is divisive, especially in Italy. But he showed interesting things: he won a race, and collected double the points of the other Ducati riders who like him were racing on a 2023 model. There are data, I cannot reveal them, which confirm this: he is the rider who more than everyone else will be able to raise the performance of Ducati, the team and all the riders, given that there is a continuous exchange of information between us.”
She had focused on young people, the “cantera”. Instead, general manager Gigi Dall’Igna wanted to sacrifice everything on the altar of the Catalan.
“Gigi is a man of integrity and took responsibility, but we decided between two people. The satisfaction of having seen our boys grow is greater than the sorrow of losing them. Giving up Martin was a heartbreaking choice. But if we want to continue to stay ahead, we must be ready for difficult, unpopular decisions.”
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