Once again it was Madonna di Campiglio that held the presentation of Team Lenovo Ducati, which unveiled the Desmosedici GP25s entrusted to Francesco Bagnaia and his highly anticipated teammate, Marc Marquez. Two champions that any team would love to have in the box, although there is no shortage of questions about what their coexistence might be like. It was precisely the relationship between the two title winners that was one of the issues we explored on the sidelines of the presentation with Mauro Grassilli, sporting director of Ducati Corse.
Mauro, you could say that this is a bit of a new beginning for Ducati, since Marc Marquez has arrived and there is no longer the number 1 on Francesco Bagnaia's fairing. How do you experience this day? What are the feelings?
"I am a romantic, so I start by saying that for me this is an extremely important and unique moment of reunion, which allows us to resume our relationship with sponsors and journalists. As far as the team and the two riders are concerned, I think what we are doing is going in the direction of really writing the history of our sport. We are working well and I see that there is a beautiful relationship between the two riders, they are even having lunch together with their respective wives and girlfriends. What we need to do we are doing, then the track will have its say and we will see what happens."
Tardozzi also said that Pecco and Marc are talking a lot these days. Did you expect this relationship?
"From my experience, I have always seen very good relationships between riders. Even in the days of Loris Capirossi and Troy Bayliss when I started. The relationship between riders is important, and I expected it, because they are two good, intelligent, professional people."
So you don't think the most difficult thing this year will be to keep them at bay in the box?
"It will be an important thing, but not among the most difficult. It will be good, exciting, and equally important to create a good climate, but not the most difficult thing. Also because, as I said before, they are professionals. People who know how to do their job."
What surprised you most about Marquez and how did you see Bagnaia after the winter?
"Pecco is a professional. I saw him just before the photoshoot, coming back from his honeymoon, and I found him extremely relaxed, very calm and confident. Nothing in particular. Marc I have known him for a short time. I started last year when we met each other in hospitality, so I'm still finding out about him. So far I'm really liking everything about him: the way he relates to Pecco, to us, to partners and to the media. I can't wait to see him on the track, really dressed in Red. I am happy with the current situation."
The expression 'dream team' is a bit overused, but the impression is that with such a team it is almost impossible to lose.
"Yes, however, I really struggle to say that we are the best team in the world, or other similar things, because in my opinion Aprilia and KTM have strengthened so much and will be super opponents. We have seen that Yamaha has made major improvements on the track since last year, while Honda right now I don't know. So hopefully we will always win and be the team to beat, but I wouldn't take that for granted."
Did it bother you that much to see the number 1 on an Aprilia? In the end, Martin won it with you.
"No no, Jorge did great. He deserved the number 1 and it's right that he carries it. So, there was absolutely no hassle whatsoever."
This was the fourth presentation of the year, and yours is the first team to have a title sponsor. You who have also been a marketing man, do you think that's worrisome for the environment?
" Ever since I started in this business at a somewhat higher level, the desire has always been to bring in partners from outside the industry. So that we can speak through our sponsors to an audience other than motorcycle enthusiasts. The fact that we see other teams that have no title sponsors, or very few sponsors from other sectors, if any, is a cause for concern. Because it means that we are talking to the same people, and that is not the goal of Ducati and should not be the goal of the championship in particular."
We are waiting for Liberty Media, because there has been a delay in the acquisition, but is it still time for MotoGP to rethink itself to attract a new audience and new investors?
"In my opinion it was a long time ago that we had to start thinking about attracting new investors. We in our small way have been doing this from the beginning, because, as I said, Ducati's goal is to bring as many sponsors as possible and give as much visibility as possible to our sport, which in our opinion is really the best in the world. We do this through presentation, bringing the media and sponsors out of our industry, they help give visibility to a world that without them maybe we would not have been able to reach."
What has Marc Marquez brought to Ducati for now, not only from a sporting point of view but also from a communications point of view?
"We have a lot of satisfaction also from the communication point of view. It's not that we didn't have any before, but I think with Marc we are reaching an audience that before was maybe more difficult to reach. So, he is helping us from that point of view as well."
And Pecco, is he improving? Is he becoming a more charismatic character?
"Without a doubt. Let's remember that Pecco is a World Champion. He is a character, who is doing well on the track but also off it. There is still some way to go, but he is doing so many off-track activities, with which he is helping to give visibility not only to Ducati as a company, but also to Francesco Bagnaia as a rider, as a professional and as a sportsman."