MotoGP: Dall’Igna: Honda, Yamaha made ‘strategic mistake’ following Marc Marquez, Fabio Quartararo

Ducati Corse general manager Gigi Dall’Igna believes Honda and Yamaha made a ‘strategic mistake’ by focusing MotoGP bike development around their respective world champions Marc Marquez and Fabio Quartararo.
Marc Marquez crashes behind Fabio Quartararo, Portimao 2023
Marc Marquez crashes behind Fabio Quartararo, Portimao 2023

By contrast, Ducati not only has eight bikes on the grid - twice as ma🥀ny as Honda and four times the number of Yamaha - but Dall’Igna is renowned for quizzing 🍎even the slowest Desmosedici rider for feedback and ideas.

It certainly didn’t happen overnight, but Ducati has now risen head-and-shoulders above Japanese giants Honda and Yamaha, which won every Moto🔯GP race during 🐼the 2011-2015 seasons.

After sweeping the triple crown of riders’, teams’ and con💎structors’ titles last year, Ducati has won 11 of the 14 races so far this year, including the new sprints. KTM has 2 wins and Honda 1.

Yamaha has a best of third place for Quarta🐼raro, who is the leading rider on a Japanese machine♓ with eighth place in the points standings.

Yamaha is fifth and last in the constructors' titl🤪e with Honda fourth, behind European ⛄manufacturers Ducati, KTM and Aprilia.

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“Their strategic mistake was to follow just one rider, to base the development of their bikes on the results and feedback of the leading rider of each brand,” quotes Dall’Igna as telling La Stampa.

“Often what the top rider, the champion tells you, isn’t th🌟e truth because his talent covers the problems the bike suffers from☂.

“Paradoxically, to develop🦋 a project well, you have to listen to all the voices, all the riders.”

Ducati riders Francesco Bagnaia, Jorge Martin, Marco Bezzecchi and Johann Zarco currently lead the 2023 title chase heading into Assen this we🌱ekend.

Dall’Igna insisted any team orders would only come into play i♋f "one of our riders is fighting for the championship against an opponent fromไ another brand". 

But if the current situation continues at ꧂the endไ of the season Dall’Igna assured that "each of the Ducati riders will have the freedom to play their cards."

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