Gigi Dall’Igna has “a rider’s mentality, when he doesn’t win he gets angry”
“If he was 20 or 30 years younger and he was a rider..."
The crucial role of Gigi Dall’Igna has been transcribed by several key figures from within Ducati.
The Italian manufacturer has dominated MotoGP for three years, finishing 2024 with the top four highest-placed riders in the standings.
Ducati are expected to be the protagonists this year too, particularly with Marc Marquez making the step up from Gresini to the official garage.
But their true star might be general manager and aerodynamics extraordinaire Dall’Igna.
"For me, the key point of Ducati was the incorporation of Gigi Dall'Igna," Marquez told DAZN.
"I would define Gigi Dall'Igna as a rider. He has a 100% rider mentality.
“When he doesn't win, he gets angry. He has that ambition that is necessary in the world of competition.
“If he was 20 or 30 years younger and he was a rider he would be one of those riders you would fear on the track.”
Loris Capirossi added: "Now all the riders want to ride with Ducati.”
Two-time World Superbikes champion Alvaro Bautista praised Dall’Igna: "I think that's the secret.
“A good engineer who listens to the riders, who knows how to work not only by looking at data, but by interpreting the data along with the rider’s comments.
"He made Ducati go from being a difficult bike, that nobody wanted to go, that everyone said 'Ducati... not that, not that', to these last years, where it is the bike that everyone wants.”
Jorge Martin won the 2024 MotoGP title with Pramac, the Ducati satellite team who have switched to Yamaha for this year.
"It all started at Gigi,” Martin said.
“It was when they made the bike so competitive. Gigi put together so many bikes on the track with very talented new riders, so everything has been a bomb.”
Dall’Igna had his say: "I have always thought that aerodynamics had been neglected a lot in motorcycle racing.
“But I must say that here I have found the right people to be able to address the issues of aerodynamics on the bike, which are much more complicated compared to a car."
Ducati will face new challenges this year, with a reduced presence on the MotoGP grid from eight to six bikes.
They have also reduced the quantity of factory bikes from four to three (for Marquez, Pecco Bagnaia and VR46’s Fabio di Giannantonio).
Without Pramac anymore, VR46 take over as Ducati’s key satellite team. They will retain Gresini too.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
