The champagne that was uncorked this Sunday in the Esponsorama workshop right after the MotoGP race was over was more than justified if we take into account what was being celebrated. Enea Bastianini had just climbed into the box for the first time since she was promoted to the heavyweight category this season. And he did it after hammering the stopwatch with a devastating pace, which led him to lower the absolute record of the Marco Simoncelli circuit in three consecutive laps.
The third position of the Beast , combined with the incontestable victory of Pecco Bagnaia, certified the good moment that Ducati is going through, which with its Desmosedici has the most envied prototype on the grid. And not just because the bike has enormous potential and has managed to mitigate the weak points of the latest versions. But because, in addition, it is lethal in the hands of almost any runner who drives it.
The numbers do not deceive, and much less if they are combined. Bastianini became Misano in the fifth different rider of the Borgo Panigale brand to get on the podium in 2021. Ducati has won races with three different individuals (Bagnaia, Jack Miller and Jorge Martín), on favorable circuits ( Red Bull Ring ) and in others that, on paper, should not be so ( Jerez or Le Mans). The contrast with the other factories is enormous, especially in the case of Yamaha and Honda , whose punch is much more concentrated. The only bet of the first is Fabio Quartararo, and the second lives hanging on Marc Márquez, the only one capable of half making up a year to forget.
Márquez won at the Sachsenring and was about to repeat at Aragón. Those are the only two times an RC213V has finished a Grand Prix in the top three. Of the 12 podiums that Yamaha adds, 75% (nine) are signed by Quartararo, the leader of the general table. At Ducati, that statistic is much more atomized. Of the total of 17 podiums, six correspond to Bagnaia (35%), four to Zarco (23.5%), three to Miller and Martín (17.6 each), plus Bastianini (5.8%).
El Diablo , meanwhile, brings together five of the six wins for the Iwata manufacturer, while the other was achieved in Qatar by Maverick Viñales, who is not even on the payroll –he wears the colors of Aprilia–. The only one of the four drivers who drive an M1 who has not yet managed to climb the box is Valentino Rossi, who, curiously, is the brother of the owner of the only Desmosedici who has not made it either: Luca Marini.
“The Ducatis are five steps ahead”, commented Alex Rins, this Sunday, just after rolling on the ground while trying to tie Bastianini short, which happened to him like a shell despite having a 2019 bike. Ducati works well with riders who have different riding styles, and also with a rookie like Martin. It’s amazing how fast everyone can go”, agreed Pol Espargaró, amazed at the power of Bologna’s bullets.
On the other end of the phone is Gigi Dall’Igna , General Manager of Ducati and father of the current Ducati generation. He is the promoter of that choral policy that explains the versatility of the Desmosedici. “We have always paid a lot of attention to all the riders we have, including those from the satellite teams, and that has given us a very broad picture of the problems the bike had and still has,” the Italian engineer told Motorsport.com.
“All the improvements to the bike in its different areas would also benefit the theoretical leader, if there were one, by classification,” adds Dall’Igna, who toasted Bastianini’s podium on Sunday, just as he did before with Pramac’s successes.
Paolo Ciabatti, sporting director of the manufacturer, already referred to the versatility of the latest Desmosedici a year ago in a chat with Motorsport.com: “We don’t care who wins as long as it’s a Ducati. After all, the support for Pramac is practically identical to that received by the official team”.
The doubts that could be generated by the generational renewal carried out by the Bologna house by dispensing with Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci to bet on youth and freshness have ended up proving the promoters of the idea right. And that the risk existed and was high. “When you make such an important change, you always have some doubt. But the future was going in that direction, as has been shown. And it has become clear that young drivers are capable of adapting very quickly”, argues Ciabatti.
Bagnaia is today Ducati’s trump card with more options to worry Quartararo, who has 48 points in his favor when there are 100 at stake. The profile of the man from Turin has nothing to do with that of Dovizioso, the last leader of the company, runner-up three times (2017-2018-2019), a 35-year-old guy with a backpack loaded with experience to the brim. That background and his conviction also led him to regularly clash with Dall’Igna. “Anyway”, argues someone coming out of the Ducati workshop, “all those demands made by Dovizioso over the last few years also have a great influence on the competitiveness of today’s bike. Andrea complained a lot about the lack of spin, and now that is something that has clearly been improved.”
The friction between the #04 and Dall’Igna, which in many cases led to confrontations, contrasts with the peace that prevails at the moment in the official workshop, where Miller and Bagnaia compliment each other and avoid discerning which of the two has more weight. “It is true that, for many reasons, the generational change of the drivers has had an influence on the garage. After many years of a pilot who marked the line, there are situations that get a bit entrenched”, Ciabatti deepens.
“The arrival of Pecco and Jack has been a breath of fresh air. In addition, we are talking about two people who are very grateful to those who have given them the opportunity to sign for an official structure. In the case of Dovi, for everything he managed to achieve, he believed that it was Ducati that was in debt to him”, emphasizes the executive.
(Click on this link or on the image to see all Ducati victories in MotoGP)
