Ducati admit fear that Gigi Dall’Igna may receive mega-money offer from rivals

Dall’Igna was ambitiously targeted by Honda earlier this year, but opted to stay put.

The Ducati general manager and engineer extraordinaire could continue to receive tempting offers to jump ship, his boss fears.

Claudio Domenicali told La Repubblica about Dall’Igna: "He is a star in his sector. 

“We are very aligned. I hope he stays with us forever. 

“But I don't rule out that one day Honda could make him a mega offer. 

“But not even Gigi knows all the secrets of the magic Ducati formula. 

“There are some well-nailed to the floor of Borgo Panigale. 

“Ducati's winning formula is like Coca-Cola's: secret. 

“In the company, everyone knows only part of the recipe. But no one knows all the ingredients."

The revival of Ducati back to the top of the MotoGP world is largely credited to Dall’Igna.

The brain of the Desmosedici project, he guided them through their lowest ebb and to the back-to-back MotoGP championships that Francesco Bagnaia has collected.

This season was dominated by Ducati, with all three title contenders representing a different team under the manufacturer’s umbrella.

Honda, who spent many years on top but are now lingering at the back, tried to recruit Dall’Igna as part of a project to rebuild themselves.

Dall’Igna explained the offer he rejected to Gazzetta dello Sport: “I feel good at Ducati. 

“I worked so hard to get to a situation where Ducati is considered a model, leaving now wouldn't have been logical. 

“Then, it's true that I did what I had to do here. It could have been a challenge won and archived. 

“And Honda is an equally interesting and important challenge."