MotoGP, Dall'Igna on Sky: "We chose Marquez to have two riders for the title race"

What does the arrival of Marquez in 2025 represent for you? Is it the achievement of one a goal you had?

"No, it is not an achieved goal. The goal is to win world championships. Having Marc and Pecco allows us to try to achieve this difficult goal, because our rivals are also stronger with riders of our teams from this season, so it will be increasingly complicated to win also next year"

We know that your ideal would have been to keep them both. Marquez had said a month ago that it would be enough for him to have the most updated bike regardless of the colour. It all seemed simple: Marquez at Pramac and Martin with you. Then, last Friday, Marquez seemed change his mind. In short, what happened?

"Our goal was to keep both Martin and Marquez, and we knew from the beginning that it would be very complex. We tried until the very end, until we realized it was no longer possible. The solution was either to bet on Martin or on Marquez. That was also a complicated decision, but in the end we opted for Marc"

Marquez has titles and charisma. He is strong and charismatic. In Honda he directed the bike development. Now you have two world champions who may have different technical needs. How do you think they can be managed? How do you do that?

"From the point of view of bike development, I’m at all not worried. We have our philosophy: we follow more than one rider, and the development he prefers. I believe that keeping all factors into account can be an advantage for everyone. Moreover, this year Marquez was one of those riders who helped us improve. Instead, what really concerns me is the sporting management. There is a wonderful atmosphere inside the Ducati box, and our goal is to make sure it stays that way also next year"

Is it one more test for Bagnaia? The most important one?

"Not for me. He doesn't have to prove anything more. He has already won two MotoGP World Championships, he does fantastic things on the bike. He is our flag. We signed him before the world championship started, so he has nothing to prove"

How much do the marketing and business aspects weigh? Do you know how many more bikes will be sold in the world thanks to Marquez?

"I don't know! I am not a marketing man. If one wanted to put a company out of business, he would decide to give me the marketing team to manage and then he would achieve his goal. My choice of Marquez is based only on sporting reasons. Then surely someone in the company will have made his evaluations. Of course he is divisive. There are those who love him to death and those who hate him to death. In Italy he has fewer fans, but around the world there are many who support him"

Pramac ends up with a bit of a losing streak. Having lost both Marquez and Martin, is there a risk of losing Pramac? And how much would that weigh?

"The risk is real. The whole motorcycle world is rooting for Pramac to do something other than stay with Ducati. But it would be a real shame, both personal and sporting level, because Pramac and Campinoti have been with us for so long, they are part of the success we are experiencing. It would be a disappointment, all needs to be taken into account, but indeed the problem exists"

We can understand Martin could be upset. What will the management be like now, given that he is a Ducati rider leading the world championship?

"We do sport and so first of all we have to be sporty. Nothing can be said about our management of the independent team bikes. Everyone with our bikes has had the opportunity to improve their talents. It will be the same with Martin from now till the end of the year. He will not miss any of our support, both on a technical and a human level"

It might seem like a paradox, but we spoke about Marquez in Ducati and two days later we had the perfect Italian Sunday. We need your thoughts on Bastianini, who - we understood – has been out of the race for that spot for a while now.

"I thank you for the question. Enea has done some wonderful things with us, both with the private team and in the factory team. He was simply unlucky. He threw away the first season because of a crash in the first race, managing to recover only at the end of the world championship and then in these first races in 2024. We know he's worth a lot, but it's like you say: we had two titans who were ready to fight coming in from a different path and Enea was sidelined early on"

Have you had sleepless nights?

"I hope tonight will be the first in which I really rest. It was a complex decision, both from a sporting and a human point of view, because no driver ever went out of line. There was never any impropriety. I changed my mind several times in these days, but finally I am convinced that Marquez was the right choice. We have the best team in the history of Ducati. I'm really happy"

When did you take the decision?

"The decision was taken on Sunday at Mugello (June 2nd). On Saturday afternoon we had the embryo of a decision and then everything developed after Sunday’s. We had little time to sort out the details of the contract"

Not considering number of races and titles won Bagnaia and Marquez could be two riders who will complete against each other on the same level, on the red Ducati?

"I definitely believe so. They are two champions. They are determined. They have both suffered and know how to suffer. That's when you see the champion’s spirit. In my opinion, yes, they will play it out on a level playing field"