Dall'Igna: "Ducati can compete for the title"

Ducati General Racing Team Manager Gigi Dall'Igna has said he is confident that his team can compete for honours throughout the next season and he is confident that his new-look teams will prove competitive. Jack Miller and Francesco Bagnaia have both been promoted to the factory Ducati Team, with Johann Zarco and rookie Jorge Martin replacing them in Pramac Racing. There are also high hopes for Moto2™ World Champion Enea Bastianini and fellow intermediate class graduate Luca Marini as the Italians don the Esponsorama Racing colours. 

It is an exciting looking line-up for the Bologna based manufacturer, and the optimism is shared by Dall'Igna.

"Miller had a good finish to 2020, he had fantastic races and if he still has that form he will be among the contenders to take home the title. But Bagnaia did great things in many races: I hope to have two good points riding for me in the World Championship. Pecco has to work on continuity, especially on certain tracks he has to make the most of the tyres. In one year he made an incredible leap in quality, if he grows again it will be the match," Dall'Igna said in an interview with Sky Sport 24. 

"Marini and Bastianini? For their first GPs, it will be like tests," he continued.

"It's a strange year, there are few tests and for rookies like Bastianini and Marini, it will be a problem. They skipped a lot of tests, it won't be easy, they will reach the first race with very few kilometres in the engine. For them, the first races will amount to some test".

In terms of bike development, the Italians already know what they need to focus on too as they target a smoother ride. 

"We want to develop Ducati's aerodynamics"

"This will be a particular season, it comes after 2020, a difficult year. It is a year with many technical limitations, the engine will be frozen and it also affects the chassis. We have put a lot of imagination into it and I hope that in the aerodynamic part there will be further developments. We have concentrated our efforts where it was possible to do so: we have a token available and we will do it in aerodynamics".