Gigi Dall’Igna sheds light on Honda’s failed mission to recruit him

The 2024 MotoGP season could be shaping up quite differently had Gigi Dall’Igna accepted the advances from Honda.

In fact, despite Marc Marquez making the opposite move from Honda to Ducati, you could argue that Dall’Igna switching could have had an even greater impact.

But Ducati can breathe a sigh of relief because their mastermind engineer is staying put.

He told Motorsport why he didn’t want to go to Honda: “It has cost us a lot to get here.

“We didn't win the world championship from one year to the next.

“It would have been completely stupid to give up on a situation as positive on a technical level as the one that surrounds me now at Ducati.

“The team I have around me is wonderful, both from a technical and human point of view.

“At Ducati it's great. It's a place where you can talk, discuss.

“It's not easy to give up this sweet thing.”

Ducati was struggling with little hope of leading the MotoGP pack when Dall’Igna arrived a decade ago.

He set about creating the Desmosedici, a bike which was massively innovative in the aerodynamics space.

Despite the failed attempts of Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo, and the near-misses of Andrea Dovizioso, Ducati finally ended a 15-year winless run in 2022, when Francesco Bagnaia became their first MotoGP champion since Casey Stoner.

Today Dall’Igna’s creation is clearly the best bike on the grid and has attracted Marquez to end his illustrious association with Honda.

Honda, meanwhile, are trying to make meaningful behind-the-scenes changes to reinvigorate their own project.

Dall’Igna would have been the showpiece addition - and who knows if recruiting him might have convinced Marquez to stay?