Bitter Thailand
After the excellent tests in Buriram, Ducati did not expect to struggle so much at the Thailand Grand Prix. In addition to never being in contention for the victory in Sunday’s race, there was no Borgo Panigale bike in the top five positions, with Fabio Di Giannantonio the best-placed in sixth. The factory team’s result was particularly disappointing, with Marc Marquez forced to retire after hitting a curb that damaged the rim while fighting for the podium, and Pecco Bagnaia far behind, finishing only ninth, 18 seconds behind winner Marco Bezzecchi.
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Dall’Igna’s analysis
Gigi Dall’Igna, general manager of Ducati Corse, did not release any statements at the end of the Thailand GP, but this Tuesday he posted his usual race commentary on LinkedIn without making excuses: “This world championship promises to be challenging and exciting, with expectations already high as we look forward to the next challenges.
First of all, congratulations to our opponents who established themselves with full merit. Their competitiveness is not surprising; we had proof of this particularly during the final stages of last season and even more during pre-season testing. The statistics highlight that we haven’t been on the podium after 88 consecutive races and, for the first time in 102 GPs, our brand is not among the top five.
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This indicates that we must quickly close the gap, but we are aware of this and we will not panic. It is a natural cycle, a drop in performance can happen, especially after such a long period of continuous success. Our efforts are now focused on data analysis and introducing setup improvements in the upcoming races to ensure our riders can be more competitive. There is certainly work to be done, but we are well aware that this was only the first race of the season. The calendar is long and includes different tracks; we will have a clearer idea of our position relative to the competition only after the next rounds.
In short, it was a GP that we knew we had to manage intelligently. Marc was doing exactly that, putting all his head and heart into it. However, he was really unlucky: first in the Sprint Race, where a questionable decision by Race Direction cost him the victory, and then in the GP where, despite some difficulties, the podium was within his reach before being forced to retire.
Forza Ducati!”.
