English
Italiano
At the end of the Thai GP, just one day after Bautista's second title victory, we met up with Paolo Ciabatti for a couple of quick comments on the successes of a Ducati that, in the past two years, has made itself the undisputed protagonist in both the MotoGP and the Superbike.
“I think it was one of the most beautiful races in recent years. The best advertising for the MotoGP,” Paolo Ciabatti commented. “When you have a show like this, it’s really the most beautiful motorsport championship in the world. In this race, we saw three riders who tried in every way to win by giving a show with even extreme maneuvers.”
He then spoke of Baganaia’s attempt to overtake on the outside on the second to last lap.
“Yes, it was an attempt, but in fairness, which is the most important thing. I want to congratulate Jorge who is in a spectacular moment. Congratulations to Binder, who had a great race and, of course, congratulations to Pecco who, for some races now, has problems on Saturday, but he always manages to find a solution for the race on Sunday.”
In fact, Pecco started sixth from the second row in the race, on a circuit where the gap between riders were very narrow throughout the weekend, and the overtakes were made even harder by track conditions and temperatures.
“It’s clear that having to overtake fast riders like Aleix and Luca Marini leads you to stress bikes and tires more, so we have to work to get back to the front row in qualifying. Ideally, it would be better to start immediately up front and then be able to aim for the victory without having to make comebacks, which are great to see but the bike and rider aren’t then able to be in optimal shape in the last stages of the race.”
But another Ducati was successful on Saturday in Thailand: Alvaro Bautista’s. He won the Superbike title for the second consecutive year. With the certainty that, even in the MotoGP with numbers at hand, a Ducati rider will win the title, 2023 was the year of reconfirmations for Borgo Panigale.
“It was a memorable Saturday,” he continued. “In fact, we won the Superbike title for the second time, and we know that it’ll also be so in the MotoGP, even if no one knows which of the three riders, Pecco, Jorge or Marco, is competing for the title. This reconfirmation in both championships represents a historic event, which is a great satisfaction for Ducati,” he concluded.
