Ducati crew supervisor Davide Tardozzi insists it is going to be ‘very straightforward’ to handle MotoGP champions Francesco Bagnaia and new signing Marc Marquez in the identical storage this season.
Though Ducati needed to navigate an all-Desmosedici Bagnaia vs Pramac’s Jorge Martin title battle for the previous two seasons, 2025 seems to be set to be the primary time two Official crew riders have gone head-to-head for the championship.
Many are predicting fireworks, eventually.
However former racer Tardozzi – whose heart-on-a-sleeve response to the highs and lows of racing are steadily caught on digicam within the Ducati storage – is adamant champions are simpler to work with than newcomers.
“I can’t change my method as a result of in the long run it’s rather more straightforward to work with champions than with younger ‘youngsters’,” Tardozzi stated on the Ducati crew launch.
“I already know very nicely Pecco, whereas I’m beginning to know Marc. I believe it is going to be very straightforward. And what helps my opinion is the respect that I see between them.
“They converse rather a lot. They’re working collectively to attempt to enhance the bike after which in the long run it is going to be the racetrack that can say who’s in entrance and who’s within the again.
“However that is one thing that whoever is behind will take as a stimulation to be higher for the next race. So I’ve little doubt that it is going to be very straightforward to work with them.”
The Italian, 65, pledged: “As we did prior to now, we’ll assist each riders. We have now the ability to do it. We’ll assist these two champions – as a result of now we have two champions, not solely two riders – and we’re proud to have them.
“We’ll assist them in one of the simplest ways, and if one or the opposite will take a special method [with set-up or parts], we’ll attempt to assist him in one of the simplest ways.”
Tardozzi gained the primary ever WorldSBK spherical at Donington Park in 1988 and later oversaw eight Ducati Superbike riders’ titles earlier than becoming a member of the manufacturing facility in MotoGP.
For a few years, Tardozzi confronted Marquez as a rival, the Repsol Honda rider thwarting Ducati’s title hopes with Andrea Dovizioso in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
Nonetheless, there have been some thrilling victories by Dovi in opposition to Marquez, reminiscent of a last-turn showdown at Austria in 2017, with Tardozzi on the centre of the post-race celebrations.
“We already spoke with Marc about that!” Tardozzi stated. “I used to be so blissful after we beat him as a result of I knew that we had been beating the very best rider of the second.
“So after we fought with him, I used to be tremendous blissful and the crew was tremendous blissful as a result of beating Marc on these occasions was for us one thing unimaginable.”
Bagnaia handed Tardozzi his first MotoGP titles as a crew supervisor in 2022 and 2023 earlier than dropping out to Martin on the remaining spherical of final 12 months.
Neglected by Ducati in favour of Marquez, Martin and the #1 plate are transferring to Aprilia this season.
