English
Italiano
Gigi Dall'Igna is living this World Ducati Week perhaps with more tension than he experienced in any MotoGP or SBK race weekend. The reason is easy to explain and involves the Race of Champions, which will be held tomorrow and in which all the Ducati champions will be on the track, challenging each other on the new Panigale V4 2025.
The engineer asked the guys to take it easy, but we're talking about riders like Pecco Bagnaia, Marc Marquez, and Jorge Martìn, and we obviously can't forget the SBK guys, like Bautista, Bulega, Petrucci and Iannone. Everyone is super competitive, everyone wants to win no matter what kind of race they're in, that's why it was necessary to call them all to order before they went out on the track. And Dall'Igna did that. Then he took a few minutes of his time afterwards to tell us how he's experiencing this golden moment for Ducati.
"I'd say we're in the middle of all the seasons of all the championships," Gigi commented. "From the MotoGP to the SBK. It's worth experiencing it slowly. It has to be a race, because they're riders and everyone wants to win it. But it also has to be a race where everyone has fun without thinking too much about the results."
This isn't your first WDW. How do you experience this passion?
"These are definitely great days for us. We feel the warmth of our people, of those who cheer for us at every race. And it's really a hearfelt support. It's beautiful."
Yesterday, the new Panigale V4 was unveiled. How much did the work in the MotoGP influence its development?
"A great racing bike is a bike that can adapt to different riding styles and different circuits. Like I've always said, in the end, it's always the compromise that pays off in racing. You don't have to just have the best engine or the best frame. You have to have the best compromise between all the parts of a bike knowing that, in every compromise, everyone has to accept some reduction in performance in the individual aspect, but to make the bike perform better overall."
Something about the 2024 season?
"It's a golden situation for Ducati. You can't define it in any other way. But it's true that, in the SBK, Toprak is putting a lot of pressure on us right now. He's riding in an incredible manner, so kudos must be given to him. But, with that out of the way, it's definitely true that we're having some golden seasons. For a brand, the most important thing isn't only winning, but also reconfirming ourselves over time, and I think we're doing that. That said, we need to keep working to do that, and not think about being first, but rather last. We need to find a new solution every day, every hour, something that allows us to constantly improve. This is our goal. Everyone in Ducati Corse is trained to think this way. I think we'll be able to stay at this level for quite a while longer."
