Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali has been grilled about his notorious insistence that he wouldn’t signal Marc Marquez.
Whereas Marquez was nonetheless tied to his big-money Honda deal, however was crashing continuously and struggling badly, the Ducati boss was first requested about signing him.
“It isn’t the correct factor for us. We’ve a gaggle of extraordinary riders that we’ve got raised,” Domenicali informed Sky in June 2023.
Weeks later Marquez was signed as much as the Gresini satellite tv for pc staff and, a 12 months later, Ducati allowed Jorge Martin and Marco Bezzecchi to stroll away as a consequence of their need to maneuver the eight-time champion to their manufacturing unit staff.
Domenicali has revisited his main U-turn.
“If we now have Marc with us, it’s as a result of we made a selection that was rigorously addressed,” Domenicali informed GPOne.
“We did it, additionally occupied with the general efficiency we might obtain.
“Final 12 months, his efficiency was a terrific reference. We made our observations and thought it was a good selection.”
Marc Marquez set for COTA MotoGP
Marc Marquez
The signing of Marquez represented a significant pivot away from Ducati’s philosophy which had begun to serve them properly.
Francesco Bagnaia was the primary of their riders, introduced the Ducati construction, to win the MotoGP title in 2022.
Martin, Bezzecchi and Enea Bastianini had been different younger and promising riders on their books – all left concurrently Ducati selected Marquez for his or her 2025 manufacturing unit staff.
However that call has been partly justified by Marquez’s sensational begin to the season.
He has gained the primary 4 races throughout two rounds in Thailand and Argentina.
This weekend, he heads to the Americas Grand Prix which is often one among his favourites.
“I believe Pecco began with two races that weren’t amongst his favourites,” Domenicali mentioned.
“He completed winter observe with some issues that didn’t rely upon him, so we’re not seeing his true potential.
“I’m satisfied we’ll see it, beginning with the upcoming races, though possibly not in Austin which is a circuit that’s notably appropriate to Marc.
“However I believe we’ll see a championship that’s totally different from Qatar.”
