Gigi Dall'Igna explains why Ducati will be "weaker" in 2025

Ducati general manager Gigi Dall’Igna says it will be “weaker” in 2025 without Pramac but this has been offset by having ‘the best ever riders’ in the brand’s MotoGP history.

The current MotoGP dominator dropped a bombshell on the 2025 rider market this summer when it announced it had gone against its decision to promote Jorge Martin to its factory squad in favour of Marc Marquez.

The ramifications of this were that Martin signed for Aprilia, while the works-supported Pramac squad elected to penned a satellite deal with Yamaha for 2025.

It means Ducati will have six bikes on the grid next year instead of eight, while its factory offering only extends to Francesco Bagnaia, Marquez and VR46’s Fabio Di Giannantonio.

Dall’Igna concedes Ducati will be “weaker” compared to its rivals in 2025 because of the loss of Pramac, but feels what the factory team has gained more than makes up for this.

“We are probably the first manufacturer to try to use the data from the satellite team in order to improve the bike, and of course we have less opportunities to do this for the future,” Dall’Igna said.

“The other manufacturers learned that this was possible to do something like that, and so this is the reality.

“Overall, we are weaker than this year because the number of riders will be less next season.

“But on the other side, for a factory team we will have probably the best ever riders in the history of Ducati.

“The others take from us not only the riders but also a lot of technicians; Yamaha, Aprilia, Honda now. For sure, this is a boost for us to do the best.”

Ducati currently occupies the top four spots in the riders’ championship ahead of this weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, with Pramac’s Martin leading Bagnaia by seven points.

Out of all grands prix run so far in 2024, Ducati has won all but one, leaving Dall’Igna “really happy and proud about the job we have done”.

Dall’Igna sure Ducati can handle Bagnaia/Marquez tensions in 2025

Recently, double world champion Bagnaia said Marquez at the factory Ducati team “could be super good, or a disaster”.

Dall’Igna agrees with Bagnaia’s assessment, but is confident Ducati can manage any tension between the pair.

“We talked a lot between me, Mauro Grassilli and Claudio Domenicali in order to understand which will be the best solution,” Dall’Igna said of Ducati’s decision to sign Marquez, who won his first races for the brand at Aragon and Misano.

“We know that for sure we can select only one rider, and in the end the solution will be Marc and we are honestly happy about this decision.

“I’m honestly agree with him [Pecco]. They are honestly two of the best riders in the championship but for sure their character is really, really strong.

“So, it’s important that we can manage them well during the next year.

“But honestly I’m quite confident we can manage the situation and in the end I hope it will not be a disaster but the perfect year for Ducati.”