The Frenchman completed a virtually error-free 2021 season until he tied for the title with two races to go. El Diablo won five of the first 16 and was the only driver to score points in all of them up to that point. However, once the championship was sentenced, Quartararo crashed in the next one and closed the course with a fifth place in Valencia.
The drivers’ title was the only one that escaped Ducati in 2021 that they closed on a high. In addition to the team and constructor championships, Johann Zarco was proclaimed the best privateer and Pecco Bagnaia finished runner-up in the world, in total they won seven races (38%) and added 24 podiums (44%) with five different riders.
Ducati caused fear in the test that closed the activity of the year in Jerez , where Bagnaia scored the best time. The Italian was the fittest driver in the final third of the championship, winning four of the last seven races. Jorge Lorenzo, who was a driver for the brand in 2017 and 2018, sees him as the main favorite for next season.
“I see a very red 2022,” Lorenzo told GPOne.com during EICMA. “Already at the beginning of the season I said that Ducati was ready to win the championship, but the only stumbling block would be Fabio Quartararo , who had matured a lot compared to 2020. Bagnaia made some mistakes, but he finished the season impressively, so I hope that be very strong next year. Also, Ducati has taken a big step forward.”
“I’m very happy for Gigi Dall’Igna [general manager of Ducati Corse]. He deserves it because he is always one step ahead of the others in terms of innovation, and that is a great merit. The others follow him and copy him, but not winning a title is unfair and this world championship is for Ducati and for Gigi, who is doing the same as he did in 125cc, 250cc and Superbikes with Aprilia , where he was then dominant, Ducati will have the best chance of winning the world championship the year that comes”.
For the Spaniard, who was a Yamaha tester in 2020, the Iwata brand has stagnated. Even so, he advises Quartararo to renew with them.
“When you win, the right thing to do is always stay in the team,” says #99 . “It is clear that you leave if you need a new motivation, as I did with Ducati after nine years at Yamaha. But in the end there is always the risk of getting worse, so it is an analysis that Fabio will have to do. that, although it has won, the bike does not seem to be at the level of the Ducati, which has changed a lot. You can also see it on an aesthetic level, the GP22 has nothing to do with the 2015 bike”.
“On the other hand, the current Yamaha is the same as the old one, maybe even all of it. Even when I tried it as a test rider, I didn’t see a big difference compared to four or five years ago. It’s still a very good bike. complete, but Ducati has evolved more and that shows in the results”, he settles.
Photos: the technical innovations seen in the Jerez test
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