English
Italiano
Maverick Vinales' renewal with Yamaha did not surprise Ducati, who obviously had been aware of the news for days. That is, since the Top Gun on the team from Iwata had officially stopped negotiations with the Italians.
"What changes for us?" Paolo Ciabatti wonders. "Well, obviously a pawn on the MotoGP market which we had confirmed we were interested in, is no longer available."
It doesn't seem like much, but it is, even Ducati is tackling the topic calmly.
"We're certainly not worrying yet. We had talked about Maverick in Japan, if I remember correctly. We're talking about a fast rider, but one we still were able to surpass with Dovizioso. So, always taking into account that we have a strong team, we'll continue on our path."
You have to understand who you'd like to meet at this point.
"2019 gave us the names of three riders: Marc Marquez, Fabio Quartararo, and Alex Rins. Spending words on the first is useless, right? But, frankly, it seems very unlikely that he would want to separate from Honda. Then there's Quartararo, certainly strong, but who has never won a Grand Prix yet. And, finally, there's Rins, fast, who has won two GPs but is still a bit volatile."
So?
"Like I said, even if not everyone agrees, we have a fast rider, and it's Andrea Dovizioso. We have Dovi on our turf."
But will Maverick's signature with Yamaha push Ducati away from a quick decision?
"Yes. The market now opens up to other scenarios, but these are personal considerations and will remain so."
