Long-time Ducati crew chief Marco Rigamonti experienced most of the 15 years of hurt between Stoner’s MotoGP title and Francesco Bagnaia’s crown🌱ing moment last season, with Rossi’s tainted stint etched int⛎o his memory.

But he watched from afar as 𝐆Marquez combined the best traits of Stoner and Rossi.

"Valentino had an extraordinary h🐼ead,” Rigamo🉐nti tells . 

“He was able to put everyone in difficulty, even those who were stronger than him.&nb☂sp;

“Casey had an exceptional talent in riding, more than Valentino, but he struggled to withstand the pressure: every time he placed on the starting grid he was nauseous, anxiety ate him alive, he wanted to go ho🃏me. This also led to his retirement. 

“Stronger than them, in my opinion, there is onꦅly Marquez. Because he is the perfect union of the two: Marc combines Stoner's tal✱ent with Rossi's mental resilience."

Stoner’s MotoGP ch𝐆ampion♍ship owed much to Loris Capirossi, says Rigamonti.

"Stoner was a phenomenon, pure talent, but for the victory of the world championship in 2007 we must also consider that already in 2006, the last year of the 1000cc, Capirossi✨ [finished third in] the championship. The bike was quite competitive with eve🐈ryone. 

“From t🎶he following year, with the transition to 800cc, the Ducati engine had🐼 a big advantage over the competition and with Casey's talent it was able to capitalise."

But then Rossi, already a seven-time premier class champion whose glory was synonymous with Yama𒊎ha, moved to Ducati - pairing the Italian legend with the iconic Italian brand.

"A disaster contrary to expectat🃏ions,” Rigamonti said, 

“[To be fair to] Valentino🔯, the advantage of the Ducati engine had gradually diminished over the years even before his arrival, narrowing the gap that separated his opponents and highlighting the limits of the bike: although Stoner still managed to win.

“If before you could make up for some chassis problems by ch𒐪anging only the tyre specification, from 2009 the tyres were the👍 same for everyone, and the problems were increasingly evident, so much so that Casey himself began to struggle. 

“With the ar✨rival of Valentino and Stoner's move to Honda in 2011, all these problems simply came to the surface.

"During the Stoner years, the media and op😼ponents praised our anti-wheelie system and we, as Ducati employee🏅s, simply welcomed these praises. 

“The truth, however, was a𒁃nother and with the arrival of Rossi it jumped out: back in the pits after his first outing, Valentino asked the mechanics why anti-wheelie had 🦹been deactivated, only to discover that, in reality, this technology on that bike had never existed! 

“The shortcomi♈ngs of the bike, then, were translated into the results on the track, already from the first tests in Valencia in 2010: just think how in the last race – run a few days earlier on the same circuit – Stoner with Ducati obtained pole position and then finished second in the race. 

“On the first day of testing, however, 🐠while Stoner was always first, riding the Honda, however, Rossi🔯 on Ducati wandered around the 15th position.”

Ducati did not crown another MotoGP champion until Bagnaia ended the hoodoo last season. His title de💜fence begins next weekend at the Portuguese MotoGP.

Rigamonti explains how Ducati changed after Rossi’s nightmarꦐe: "From those years we began to work differently, in a frantic way. Not by choice, but by obligation. 

“If things do not work, try to improve them immediately. If before a certain number of pieces were tested in a given period o📖f time, in those years twiไce as many solutions were tried in half the time. 

“Clearly this fre🧸nzy was translated into the results on the track. At the end of 201💮2, therefore, there was a first change, because Filippo Preziosi was replaced by Bernhard Gobmeier, a man from the Audi world. 

“But it was a prett๊y messed up year: there was no real technical guide who knew where to direct development. There wa🍃s a management crisis."