The disturbing Ducati brain drain feeding the MotoGP grid

The removal of Ducati’s Massimo Bartolini Joining Yamaha’s ranks is another chapter in the steady trickle of engineers leaving Ducati’s Reparto Corse to join their competitors. In the World Championship paddock, “uniform changes” are not uncommon, but in Ducati’s ranks the departure of its engineers is constant. The list is very long, but above all, full of names that were once very, very important to the organization led by Gigi Dall’Igna. Aprilia, KTM, Yamaha and even Honda are fishing in the Borgo Panigale Reparto Corse. Let’s see in alphabetical order the former Ducati riders who have been distributed to the various official MotoGP teams:

Aprilia

Manuel Cazeaux: Electronic engineer, one of the pioneers. He only worked for one year at Dall’Igna, to join Davide Brivio’s Suzuki project. He is now at Aprilia as Aleix Espargaró’s track engineer.

Cristina Toteri: Welder, aluminum specialist. Manages welding chassis and swingarms. At the end of 2022 he swapped Borgo Panigale for Noale.

KTM

Fabiano Starlacchini: Engineer. Currently head of KTM’s MotoGP project. Of all those who left Ducati, he was the one who hurt the Reparto Corse the most. He was a leading member of the Dall’Igna organization chart and went through all four departments: engine, vehicle, electronics and aerodynamics. He knows all the secrets of Ducati. Before joining KTM, he worked at the powerful engineering company Grupo Ricardo.

Francesco Guidotti: Manager. He did not work directly at the Ducati factory, but managed its satellite team, the Pramac Team, for a long time. He was recruited by KTM to bring order to the factory team’s box. His father used to be one of Aprilia’s key figures, and his brother is Luca Marini’s team manager at Team Repsol Honda.

Alberto Giribuola: Engineer. Track engineer with whom Andrea Dovizioso won three consecutive runner-ups in MotoGP, and then was responsible for the bikes that led Enea Bastianini to sign his amazing 2022 season. He joined KTM at the end of 2022, where he is a performance engineer.

Christian Puppolin: Engineer. He came to KTM with Jack Miller, with whom he was first in Team Pramac and then in the official team.

sling bag

Filippo Tosi: Electronic Engineer. It took Livio Suppo, then manager of the Repsol Honda team, a year to convince the Japanese to sign Tosi. Honda finally hired their services to solve the crucial problems HRC had when implementing the unique electronics. It came from Magnetti Marelli, after leaving Ducati, to create the software that became mandatory in MotoGP. He is still at Honda and will be present at the Sepang tests.

yamaha

Marco Nicotra: Aerodynamics engineer. He joins Yamaha in 2023.

Massimo Bartolini: Engineer. After Starlacchini, he was the ‘deserter’ who hurt Dall’Igna so much. Very important to the structure of Ducati Corse, he is the person most responsible for what they call ‘the vehicle’ there. Michelin claims it is the biggest tire expert in the paddock. At Ducati, the eight team leaders of Ducati MotoGP riders stopped by his table to consult him about tire strategy for the weekend. Bagnaia and Bastianini recognize this as a major disadvantage.

After seeing this list, one can’t help but wonder what the engineers are behind this release Ducati Corse. There is no single reason, each case has its own story, but there are two reasons that converge in almost all cases. The first of them is the personality of Gigi Dall’Igna, director of Reparto Corse. There is solidarity among those who have left and those for whom working with Dall’Igna has not been easy. He is very, very demanding, hard, stubborn when he understands that he has reason on his side – even if that is not the case – and he does not forgive a bit.

The second reason that most engineers leave at the same time is the ‘lack of space’ for so much talent. At the top of the pyramid there is room for those who can fit, and the view of the impossibility of professional growth makes it a silver bridge to listen to offers.

Two other factors are the contractual relationship, because in many cases these engineers are hired as an external consultant. In the case of Bartolini, that was his situation for many years, despite the fact that he asked to join the Ducati Corse team. It was only a few years ago that he was finally hired.

The second factor is the personal relations with Dall’Igna, who, as said, manages the company with a military manu. His answer to a question we asked him before about his reputation for not listening to anyone spoke volumes for him. “That’s not true, quite the opposite, I listen to everything, … it’s worth listening, of course.”

After talking to some of the ‘transfers’, they all made it clear that in any case their departure from Ducati was an economic issue. Of course, everyone wants to charge more and not less, but the engineers who join Ducati Corse don’t do it because of how much they can earn, but first because of the passion for racing, and then because of the same passion . of Ducati. What happens is that over time personal relationships lose that illusion, especially when you don’t get what you think you deserve in return. And I insist, it doesn’t have to be money, sometimes a pat on the back is enough.