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SBK, Dall'Igna: "The first Ducati? We left for Sepang at the last minute and late"

“Bautista is a rider who has no secrets for me, I asked him years ago to go to Superbike. I don't expect anything from Alvaro's test with the MotoGP bike"

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Gigi Dall'Igna joined us on the occasion of the pre-Misano live and we touched on various topics with him. In addition to MotoGP, we also spoke about Superbike. Here is a small excerpt from this long chat.

Do you remember when you asked Bautista to make the step to join SBK?

“I've known Alvaro for a very long time. Even before winning with him in SBK we won together in 125 in 2006. We have always kept in touch over all these years, even if we did different things and I always thought that Alvaro had an incredible talent and that he had won too little compared to the talent that he has. This is for various reasons, because talent alone is not enough to take home victories and world titles. There was this opportunity and he had arrived in a situation in MotoGP in which he would have struggled to find a bike for the following year and the most sensible thing to do seemed to me to ask him to make this step, which I had already asked him years before, when I worked for another brand. I've always had respect for him and I've always thought he could do really well in many championships ”.

In your opinion, what could come out of Bautista’s test, when he will get back on a MotoGP bike after five years?

"First of all, we'll have to see if it will be one, two or a day and a half, because the test team's work must continue, seeing as we have a championship to try and win and the priority is bike development. It was a reward we promised Alvaro last year and what I expect, and I think he expects too, is to have fun on a MotoGP bike that he hasn't ridden in a while. I don't expect anything from this test. We don't have any times to set, or secondary goals to bring home."

What do you think of the current MotoGP technical regulations? Do you think it's a MotoGP that has gone a bit beyond the parameters, or one in which we need to think about changing something?

“From the point of view of speed, I'm going against the tide a bit. It's true that MotoGP in recent years has always increased in performance, both in terms of the engine and the speed, but the world is moving in this direction in any case, if we think that road bikes undergo the same type of evolution. Pecco with virtually a road bike laps 3” from a MotoGP bike, on a track that could be Mugello or Portimao. I don't think the run-off areas of the tracks are not adequate, or that too many modifications have to be made, honestly. In my opinion the regulations as it stands are fine. Clearly, when we need to think about doing something different in 2027, when the regulations are different, I think it's reasonable to find a compromise that reduces the bike's overall performance. Otherwise, sooner or later, the limit that allows the circuit to be used safely will be exceeded. But I don't think we're yet in that situation".

Gigi, do you remember your first Ducati?

"Of course, absolutely. The first time we left for Sepang with a bike that was finished at the last minute and late. We hadn't done the duration test and we had the limiters down. I still remember the tests Michele carried out during the winter. It was lengthy development work, it wasn’t easy, but we still managed to outline a path to follow. Among other things, I also remember my arrival at Ducati, before thinking about the bike, I focused on the people there with the intention of valorizing each of them"

 

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