Gigi Dall’Igna drops key clue about Marc Marquez's wish for a factory bike

Gigi Dall’Igna has offered his insight into how Ducati will choose their 2025 rider line-up.

Francesco Bagnaia, the MotoGP champion and Ducati’s star man, is tied to a long-term contract which he signed earlier this year.

His teammate in the 2025 MotoGP rider line-up is still to be decided.

Enea Bastianini (who currently has the seat), Pramac’s Jorge Martin and Gresini’s Marc Marquez make up the three-man shortlist.

The Ducati general manager admitted ahead of this weekend’s French MotoGP at Le Mans that the final decision will factor in more than just 2024 results.

“It’s a really difficult decision,” Dall’Igna said.

“Honestly speaking we must not only consider the 2024 races.

“We have to consider all the history of our riders. I think this is important.

“It’s a really difficult decision because all three riders are champions.

“We will see….”

Although Marquez has no ‘history’ with Ducati before the start of this year, he does have a history as a MotoGP great with eight world titles under his belt.

Whether Dall’Igna will prioritise ‘history’ within the Italian manufacturer, or in MotoGP overall, remains to be seen.

Marquez has made it very clear in recent weeks that he is seeking a factory-spec bike for 2025. He is riding a GP23 with Gresini this year.

After four rounds of the season, Martin leads the championship.

Bagnaia is 17 points behind Martin. Third-placed Bastianini is five points behind Bagnaia. Sixth-placed Marquez is 32 points behind the leader Martin.

Dall’Igna insisted that his big decision will be made by Mugello - the seventh round of the championship from May 31.

“Yes. We have to be fair with all the riders,” he said.

“We have to give them the possibilities to find a way to ride the best possible bike, if it’s not a Ducati.

“So I think this timeframe is reasonable.”