A senior Ducati official reveals how the signature Dall’Igna, which has become the best motorcycle in history, was created

Ducati Corse has closed a dream year in 2023 and on the 15th they will celebrate the ‘Campioni in Festa’ at the Unipol Arena in Casalecchio di Reno (Bologna) where they will share with the fans the titles of MotoGP, Superbike and Supersport. The final MotoGP podium, Francesco Bagnaia, Jorge Martín and Marco Bezzecchi, the two-time Superbike champion, Álvaro Bautista, and the Supersport champion, Nicolò Bulega, will meet there, as well as the management team Claudio Domenicali, Luigi Dall’Igna, Paolo Ciabatti, Davide Tardozzi and Serafino Foti.

In a recent interview on the gpone website Paolo Ciabatti acknowledged that “we are delighted with the results obtained on the track, this is the most successful season in history and all of Ducati should be proud of what we have achieved. We have won MotoGP, Superbike, World SuperSport, SSPMotoAmerica, Daytona , CIV, BSB, while in other competitions we are close to victory, like in the Australian Superbike. The numbers are obviously encouraging and we have to work hard to confirm again in 2024.”

Ducati’s sports director is living a dream with two Triple Crowns in a row in MotoGP, a situation that has nothing to do with what he saw in 2013 when he arrived and they were almost at the bottom. Then the arrival of Gigi Dall’Igna will start to enliven the panorama at Borgo Panigale in the first rush of 2015 with the first motorcycle made in Dall’Igna and the first podiums and from there they were unstoppable.

“I remember very well. The year is 2013, the situation is really complicated and we cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel. In agreement with Claudio Domenicali, we decided to focus on the figure of Dall’Igna. I spoke to Gigi on several occasions that year, but I would like to point out that Domenicali personally led the negotiations to bring him to Borgo Panigale. In the end, in Dall’Igna a new direction began, we were able to see the light, achieved the successes we all dreamed of.”, he recalls.

What are you waiting for to come?

“Gigi is a great engineer and we all know his qualities, how much he has shown in the world of racing. In 2013, when he was still at Aprilia, I told him: what are you waiting for to come to us ? Ultimately decided to embrace our project.”

Honda tried to sign him

In 2023, it was Alberto Puig who tried to entice Dall’Igna to join Honda, but the contacts did not bear fruit. In the press conference before the start of the Cheste test, Dall Igna said that “we had several conversations. I feel good with Ducati. I worked hard to reach a situation where it is considered a reference for all, so that Leaving at this moment would not be logical. It is true that I have done what I have to do here at Ducati and it may be a challenge that has been overcome and archived. I am sure that Honda is an interesting and important challenge, but I think it makes sense to continue with it after all the hard work.”