Gigi Dall’Igna has “a rider’s mentality, when he doesn’t win he gets angry”
“If he was 20 or 30 years younger and he was a ridܫer..."
The c🐼rucial role of Gigi Dall’Igna has been transcribed by several key figures 🌄from within Ducati.
The Italian manufacturer has dominated MotoGP for three years, finishing 🎀2024 with the top four highest-placed riders in the standings.
Du꧅cati are expected to be the protagonists this year too, particularly with Marc Marquez making the step up from Gresini to the offiꦓcial garage.
But🌃 their true star might be gen🃏eral manager and aerodynamics extraordinaire Dall’Igna.
"For me, the key point of Ducati was the incorporation of Gigi Dall'Igna," Marquezဣ told .
"I would define Gigi Dall'Igna as a rider. He has a 100% rider🍷 ment⛦ality.
“When he doesn't win, ♌he gets angry. He has that ambition that is nece🐲ssary in the world of competition.
“If he was 20 or 30 years younger and❀ he was a rider he would be one of those riders you would fear on the track.”
Loris Capirossi added: "Now all the riders want to rꦕide w💝ith Ducati.”
Two-time World Superbikes champion Alvaro Bautista praised Dall’Igna: "I tওhink that's the secret.
“A good engineer who listens to the riders, who knows how to work n🌳ot only by looking at data, but by interpreting the data along with the rider’s comments.
"He made Ducati go from ꧑being a difficult bike, that nobody wanted to go, that everyone said 'Ducati... not that, not that', to these last years, where it is the bike that everyone wants.”
Jorge Martin won the 2024 MotoGP title with Pramac, the Ducati satellite team who have switched to Yaꩲmaha for this year.
"It all started at Gigi,” Martin said.
“It was when they made the bike so competi🎃tive. Gigi put together so many bikes on the track with very talented new riders, so everything has been a bomb.”
Dall’Igna had his say: "I have always thought that aerodynamics꧑ had been neglected a lot in motorcycle racing.
“But I must say that he♈re I have found the right people to be able to address the issues of aerodynamics on the bike, which are much more complicated compared to a car."
Ducati will face new challenges this year, with a❀ reduced presenc♏e on the MotoGP grid from eight to six bikes.
They have also reduced the quantity of factory bikes fr♊om🌺 four to three (for Marquez, Pecco Bagnaia and VR46’s Fabio di Giannantonio).
Without Pramac anymore, VR46 take over as Ducati’s key satellite team. They 🥀will retain Gresini too.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade cov🍸ering everything from American sports, to f✅ootball, to F1.
