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Marco Zambenedetti is certainly one of the key figures who has contributed to Ducati's Superbike world title. The Superbike manager of the Borgo Panigale manufacturer was the protagonist of the live broadcast on our social media channels on the eve of the Phillip Island round, the final round of the World Championship.
Various topics were discussed with the engineer, obviously including the title victory, conquered finally after the one that vanished into thin air three years ago.
“We are obviously enthusiastic about this triumph, which came after a team effort - he said - unfortunately in 2019 we were perhaps not very solid in terms of performance and we lacked the right knowledge about a bike that was a radical change from the twin-cylinder. Furthermore, it was Alvaro's first season in SBK, he didn't know the tyres, nor the tracks. Certainly the working method adopted in 2022 has led us to the result we dreamed about”.
Meanwhile, it's already time to think of 2023, where Ducati will show off the new Panigale. On this matter, Toprak said he was surprised.
"He who hesitates is lost. Decisions are made well in advance, given that planning lasts for many years and the successes achieved on the track or not matter relatively little. The new bike is an improvement on the current one, to allow customers to have a bike that is as close as possible to the ones we see on the track".
For the occasion, the engineer didn’t spare a comment about Rinaldi, who tried the MotoGP bike at WDW.
"Rinaldi was risking his job (he jokes)".
Attention then inevitably returned to Bautista.
“Alvaro is an out-of-the-ordinary rider and there is a lot of him in this title. He proved it knowing how to react in the face of difficulties. At the same time Ducati offered a consistent product, capable of dealing with any type of situation. The thing that impressed me the most is that he had fun riding our Panigale V4"
The end of the chat focussed on Dall'Igna. As we well know, Zambenedetti is the Veneto engineer's reference point in SBK.
“I consider myself to be an extension of Dall'Igna. Gigi has won a lot and did something extraordinary. I think the gap is unbridgeable."
