He is the guru of Ducati and, surely, the most influential technician of the last decade in the premier category of motorcycling. Gigi Dall'Igna led the house of Bologna to win two world drivers' titles with Pecco Bagnaia and this Sunday he added a third, even if it was with the private Pramac team in the hands of Jorge Martinthe driver that he did not want, on two occasions, to bring into the official team.
The Italian said he was happy with the Spaniard's victory, even if it meant his team's defeat.
“It was certainly a different feeling from that of Pecco's victory, to the point that a driver won who, the next day, took a different path. Let's say that the difference in sensations was marked by this detail”, referring to to the forced departure of Martín for Aprilia.
A fact which, he assures, does not mean that they were sad about the result.
“In no case how can you be sad after a season like this. If you are sad you should be locked up. I think there is no one at Ducati who is not happy with the season that we had,” he stressed.
However, Martín's victory meant the defeat of the official Ducati team.
“I repeat, it has been a stratospheric season, the red team has been playing the World Cup for four years and has won two, Ducati three, the consistency is there, the victory is important for the people, for Pecco, for the people who are around Pecco, for me, but for the brand, for Ducati and our sponsors, the most important thing is to remain competitive for years, to be protagonists and I think that is We achieve it”,. he said.
Jorge Martín, Pramac Racing, Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati team
Photo by: Ducati Corse
A title for Martín that does not distance him one centimeter from the decision taken with Marc Marquez.
“When we made the choice of driver, we obviously thought that there was a possibility that Martín would be world champion at the end of the year, because we knew that he was a great driver and that he had demonstrated his ability to reach number 1. 1. No, it surprises us, these are situations that we had taken into consideration, we just accept them,” he explained.
“As I always said, our goal was to have all three drivers, including Martín, until we understood that the system was not going to allow us to keep all three, so we had to choose and This is what we did, and we remain convinced that “we did the right thing”.
They asked him to explain the word used, “system.”
“From a system perspective, everyone wanted to be on the same team, any other combination was impossible.”
After the season, Dall'Igna focused again on the differences between GP23 and GP24.
“I said it from the day of the presentation, that the figures on paper indicated an important step forward, we knew that we had risked a little more because we were waiting for the other manufacturers, especially those who benefited from concessions, to during the year where they took an important step forward which forced us to take a little more risk on the 2024 bike, a better one which materialized during the year.
Luigi Dall'igna, Ducati team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
A step that the 2025 motorcycle will not take…
“Honestly, today, between 2024 and 2025, I expect slightly less progress than between 2023 and 2024.”
They also questioned him about the mistakes that led Pecco to lose the championship.
“The hardest thing for a driver to find is speed, and Pecco has undoubtedly found it, as he has won 11 grands prix. It is true that he has made mistakes during the season, but if you reason a little, they all made mistakes an explanation “I think Pecco can look forward to 2025 with serenity”, predicted Gigi, who always let Martín fight for the title until the end.
“It wasn't an agreed decision or anything like that, it should be normal, motorcycling is a sport and we have to be sporty, we have to give all our riders the chance to win and that's what We have always said it to our teams and our drivers who have the freedom to win and we will always maintain that.
Márquez, testing, with his GP23 and a GP25
At this point, the future of Ducati is now linked to the arrival of a monster like Marc Márquez, who this Tuesday will make his debut during the official 2025 pre-season tests in the official box.
“We have a work plan for tomorrow with Marc which may however change depending on what we find when he goes out on the track,” explains Dall’Igna.
“In the box you will mainly find your bike from this year, the 23, and a 25. Or rather, the embryo of the 25, which is a bike that can still have some development before becoming the bike that Pecco and Marc will at the start of the next season, when tested, they will both have the same 25, the same as. Michele Pirrowho will continue the development”, was surprised the Venetian technician, who was asked for clarification on the question of whether he was going to test the GP24: “Let's say that in the plan, to date, it is not planned, but based on “whatever happens tomorrow, we can change the decision”, he kept the ace up his sleeve.
Marc Marquez, Ducati
Photo by: Ducati Corse
“I think Marc will find the Ducati climate in the box this Tuesday, the same working environment that all the riders who have been with us these years have found in our box.”
Asked about the reason and data that led him to choose Márquez instead of Martín, Dall'Igna became furious.
“I think we have already answered this question several times and it seems pointless to continue to harp on it.”
Finally, they reminded him of the attitude of Pecco who, after losing the world championship, remained on the podium to applaud Martín.
“A champion must know how to win and know how to lose, Pecco has amply demonstrated that he is a champion. In life, sometimes you win and other times you lose. The important thing is to be a protagonist and I think Pecco , with his eleven victories and the season he gave us, he excited all our Ducati fans.
Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati team, Jorge Martín, Pramac Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
