Ducati recognizes Aprilia‘s superiority in Buriram but hopes to quickly turn things around. The Thai GP was particularly difficult for the Borgo Panigale brand, whose record series of consecutive podiums in MotoGP came to an end at the end of a weekend where only Marc Márquez was able to fight with the Aprilia and Pedro Acosta.
The difficulties were multiple, between the abandonment of Márquez after the breakage of his rear rim, a glaring lack of sensations for Pecco Bagnaia and Álex Márquez or even a technical problem on the side of Fabio Di Giannantonio, but Gigi Dall’Igna shows himself to be a good sport in the face of the performance of the Aprilia drivers, Marco Bezzecchi in the lead, and Acosta, while promising to analyze each weakness.
“Above all, congratulations to our competitors who deserved their success”wrote the Ducati general manager in his post-race column published on LinkedIn. “Their performance is no surprise, we saw it in the latter part of last season and even more so during winter testing.”
“The statistics show that we ended a streak of 88 consecutive podiums, and that our brand was absent from the top 5 for the first time in 102 GPs. This shows that we must close the gap quickly, but we must realize this without giving in to the slightest panic.
Marc Márquez was the only Ducati rider to fight with the Aprilias in Buriram.
Photo de: Steve Wobser / Getty Images
“It’s a natural cycle, a drop in performance can occur, especially after such a long period of success. Our efforts are dedicated to analyzing the data and improving the settings for future races, to ensure our drivers perform better.”
Dall’Igna also wants to avoid drawing definitive conclusions solely on the basis of the Thai GP, an event contested in atypical conditions, with a very high temperature and humidity, and on abrasive asphalt, which pushes Michelin to provide a tire with a reinforced carcass which does not always suit the Ducati.
“There is work, but we are all aware that this is only the first race of the year. The season is long and offers varied circuits, we will only have an idea of our true level against the competition after several races.”
A “questionable decision by the commissioners” during the sprint
Marc Márquez’s overtaking of Pedro Acosta during the sprint is still debated.
Photo de: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images
Dall’Igna also recalls that Márquez did not achieve the results that expressed his true potential in Buriram. During the sprint, he would have won without the obligation to give the lead to Acosta, a decision which was not unanimous among the drivers, and he was heading towards the podium in the main race, passing on Raúl Fernández, when he was forced to retire.
“In short, it was a GP that had to be managed intelligently”underlined Dall’Igna, satisfied with Márquez’s performance while he was still impaired by his right shoulder : “That’s exactly what Marc did, putting all his thoughts and his heart into the work.”
Like Davide Tardozzi, team manager of the official Ducati team, Dall’Igna considers the sanction imposed on Márquez during the sprint too heavy : “He was really unlucky, first in the sprint race, where a questionable decision by the FIM MotoGP stewards cost him victory, then the race where despite some difficulties, a podium was well within reach before he was forced to retire.”
We are interested in your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Complete our survey in 5 minutes.
– The Motorsport.com team
