Marc Marquez said that one of the main reasons he wanted to join the Ducati Lenovo factory team was because at Ducati there was Gigi Dall’Igna. To Mela Chercoles, Marc said; “I was at Ducati for Dall’Igna, he is the engineer who made him win what he has played. The first thing I said to him when we started talking was: You’re still in 2025 and 2026, right? Because if we don’t continue, we don’t need to sit together.” Meanwhile on the same day when Ducati announced the signing of Marc Marquez for the factory Ducati team next season and the partnership of Pecco Bagnaia, General Director of Ducati Corse – Gigi Dall’Igna – confirmed that choosing Marc Marquez was the end of a series of difficult decision bets marked by several times of doubt.
“We have chosen Marc to have two riders fighting for the Championship title, with him and Pecco in the same box, the chances of winning increase. This has been a complicated decision, both from a sporting and human perspective, but now we are confident that we have it. the best team in Ducati history,” he said.
To SkySport MotoGP, although he assured that it was not an easy decision, Gigi explained Ducati’s motivation clearly regarding the selection of Marc Marquez, “Knowing that Márquez can make a difference with Ducati. Our bike has reached an incredible level, so having two riders like Marquez and Bagnaia in the official team will increase the chances of winning the World Championship, which is our goal. Anything can happen in racing, so having two drivers capable of competing for the title is the best.”
Although there are many concerns that the arrival of a heavyweight racer like Marc Marquez into the Ducati box could disrupt the team’s ‘harmonization’, Dall’Igna has a theory. “From a bike development point of view, I’m not worried, we have our philosophy, we don’t focus on one rider but we take all riders into account for bike development, so Marquez has helped us this year,” he said.
“On the other hand, I care more about sports management: the atmosphere we have at the moment in the Ducati team is very good, and the aim is to continue to maintain it next year. Bagnaia has shown his ability, he is doing it. fantastic things on the bike, this is our flagship, we signed an update with him before the start of the championship.”
According to Gigi, Ducati’s final decision was influenced by the opinion of the company’s CEO, Claudio Domenicali, as well as the media and marketing influence of Marc Marquez’s character. “I’m not a marketing person, Marquez’s choice was purely due to sport, although in the company there are definitely those who made this choice also for marketing reasons. “In this world, Marc has many fans,” admitted Gigi.
At the Mugello GP race weekend, tensions heated up after Marc stated that the Pramac Racing team was not an option for him in 2025 and Pramac responded via Gino Borsoi by planning not to give Marc the opportunity to join them and get GP25. After the Ducati Corse maneuver following Martin’s news, Pramac is now on the verge of leaving for Yamaha, Ducati is now at risk of losing Pramac to Yamaha. Regarding this, Gigi also commented.
“The risk is definitely real, for us it would be disappointing, Pramac and (Paolo) Campinoti have been with us for a long time, they are part of our success. “Everything has to be evaluated, but actually the problem exists,” he assumed.
