On Tuesday, Marc Marquez will get on the Gresini team’s Ducati for the first time at the MotoGP test in Valencia. The eight-time motorcycle world champion will compete in a satellite team in the 2024 season. The data is open between all eight drivers. But Marquez is not an official Ducati factory rider.
Over the course of the year, Ducati management has made it clear that they don’t need a rider like Marquez because they have many young, talented riders on their roster. When the switch from Honda to Gresini was imminent, Ducati didn’t budge.
“The Ducati position was that we don’t want Marquez,” said general manager Gigi Dall’Igna again on the morning of the Valencia test. “But now I’m excited to see what he’ll say when he gets off the bike for the first time.”
How does MotoGP star Marquez fit in at Ducati?
“He is one of the most important riders in the history of motorcycle racing, so it is an honor that he wants to ride our motorcycle.” A big question for the coming year is how Marquez will integrate into the harmonious Ducati structure.
“I said that Marc is a rider who cannot be controlled. As I said, he is one of the most important riders in history and we have to manage the relationship with him, within the team and with all Ducati employees.”
“Because I think one of our strengths is the good harmony between all team members,” emphasizes Dall’Igna. At the season finale in Valencia, a war of words broke out between Marco Bezzecchi and Marquez after a collision.
For next year it is also clear which motorcycle specification the Gresini and VR46 satellite teams will ride with: “Marc, like the rest of the satellite riders, will ride the motorcycle that Johann Zarco ended the season with.”
“The bikes of Enea Bastianini, ‘Pecco’ Bagnaia and Jorge Martin had some updates that caused reliability and performance issues,” explains Dall’Igna. “We don’t stick with them because they are not easy for private teams to manage.”
With Franco Morbidelli a Yamaha rider is coming to Ducati and with Marquez one from Honda. Information that may be useful for Dall’Igna in further development? He listens to the opinions of all drivers after every training session.
“I always listen to the riders because it would be a mistake to just listen to one rider. For example, if the motorcycle has a problem and the factory rider doesn’t say anything about it, then listening to the other riders can be good for understanding. This helps all drivers. I have always listened to all drivers and will continue to do so in the future.”