There’s an empty seat in the Ducati pit at Barcelona—the one where we sit with Davide Tardozzi. Marc Marquez isn’t at Barcelona; he’s at home, having undergone two more surgeries. One was for the foot he fractured at Le Mans, and the other was to repair his battered shoulder yet again. The Spanish champion told his team in France that he needed another operation, barely holding back his tears.
“That video shows Marc’s human side and his suffering—things champions don’t always want to reveal. They want to appear tough and strong, but it was important to see that private side of him too” says Tardozzi.
What’s striking is his ability to see the positive side of things. He was happy because the doctors had finally figured out what was wrong.
“I think Marc has suffered a lot since he got back on the bike. We had noticed that something was wrong, because we know he can be more competitive than he has been at the start of the season. The latest crash at Jerez convinced him to look even more closely into the issues he’d been complaining about since the start of the year. At home he had no problems, not even when training on motocross or flat-track bikes; instead, he had them when he was in the position required by the MotoGP bike. Upon further investigation, it was discovered that a screw in his shoulder was moving and pressing on the radial nerve, which caused him to lack strength and also experience tension in his right arm.”
How did he sound after the surgery?
“Good—he had a lively, clear voice, something he hadn’t had in the last few races, especially at Austin and Jerez. So I’m very confident and hopeful that this latest surgery has freed him from all his problems. I believe that once Marc is physically back on track, he’ll be back in the mix to compete in races.”
What is the timeline for his return? Is Mugello a possibility?
“The priority is for him to be well and regain his strength; as soon as he and his doctors tell us he can return to racing, he will. Right now, it’s too early to give a date.”
In the worst-case scenario, will Pirro be the replacement?
“When and if necessary, Michele will be the replacement.”
The Le Mans GP ended with a crash for Bagnaia, but we saw him back on form in terms of competitiveness and mood.
“I’d call him brilliant. I believe Pecco has the speed to compete in every race; we’ve always been convinced of that. Le Mans was a nice surprise, aside from Sunday’s crash, but that’s part of racing. The Aprilias are going strong, and Pecco was trying to bring home the best possible result.”
Bagnaia had mentioned a problem: have you resolved it, and can you tell us more about what happened?
“In our view, the problem is resolved, and Pecco has understood it. Without going into detail—because we don’t want to— I’d say it almost certainly won’t happen again.”
Aprilia is dominating—how do you respond?
“This is another track that historically favours Aprilia because when there’s little grip, they perform very well. How do we respond? By working. I believe that Gigi and the engineers have already shown some promise in the Jerez tests; in fact, both Pecco and Marc appreciated the small updates they brought, and we’ll continue working here on Monday as well. We’re aware that we have a group of very strong riders, not just on the factory team, and I believe we’ll be competitive. Right now, the Aprilias are going a bit faster, but I don’t think we can talk about a ‘Ducati crisis,’ as I’ve read somewhere. It’s simply that someone has worked a bit harder than us and a bit better than us, but I have no doubt we’ll bounce back, knowing Gigi and all the Ducati engineers.”
Were any mistakes made during winter testing?
“It’s clear that we brought a lot of things, and some of them didn’t work as well as they should have. Our rivals found something good that allowed them to take a step forward, aside from the fact that, in my opinion, Aprilia has been competitive since the second half of last season. I continue to insist on the confidence I have in Ducati; on many tracks where we raced this year, we improved our lap times. Those who improved even more were better, that must be acknowledged, but talking about a crisis is out of the question.”
But Ducati was used to winning…
“It’s hard to swallow (smiles). But we have to be honest and acknowledge others’ expertise. I hope that soon we’ll be a tough nut to crack for Aprilia again.”