It’s something we’ve seen happen a couple of times already: multiple MotoGP™ World Champions making the jump from a Japanese manufacturer to Ducati.
In this case it’s eight-time World Champion Marc Marquez going from Repsol Honda to Gresini Racing MotoGP™. Two have gone before the Spaniard though. And it’s two of his greatest rivals in the form of Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi.
Rossi – Yamaha to Ducati
At the end of the 2010 season, all eyes were on Rossi as he debuted on Ducati’s Desmosedici at the Valencia Test after moving to the Italian marque from Yamaha. The next two years were difficult to say the least.
Unlike in 2023, Ducati didn’t boast a winning formula on their MotoGP™ bike. Rossi’s only podium in 2011 came at the French GP as the nine-time World Champion went on to finish P7 in the overall standings – 211 points of Casey Stoner’s title-winning tally.
The following campaign brought two podiums for Rossi. The #46 would again stand on the rostrum at Le Mans, this time it was a P2, before he gave his home faithful something to cheer about by finishing P2 at the San Marino GP. Ultimately though, Rossi went winless in his two-year stint with Ducati before returning to Yamaha in 2013.
Lorenzo – Yamaha to Ducati
For the 2017 season, it was Lorenzo’s time to swap Yamaha for Ducati as the Spaniard joined Andrea Dovizioso in factory red.
The #99 made a slow start to life as a non-Yamaha rider but three podiums were bagged in his debut season on Ducati’s ever-improving package. P7 in the World Championship wasn’t where Lorenzo was used to being though.
In 2018, Lorenzo’s season didn’t get off to a flyer once more with a best of P11 coming in the opening four GPs. However, once Lorenzo had properly bonded with his Ducati, he looked like a world-beater again. Back-to-back victories in Italy and Barcelona were backed up by a P2 at the Czech GP and another win in Austria. By this stage though, Ducati had already decided to partner Andrea Iannone with Dovizioso.
Injuries plighted the end of Lorenzo’s 2018 season, as he, Ducati and everyone else were left with a feeling of, ‘What if?’ at the end of the five-time World Champion’s relationship with Ducati.
Marc Marquez to Gresini – a story yet to be written
As for Marquez, a fascinating story awaits in 2024 and beyond. Times have changed in MotoGP™ from when Rossi and Lorenzo stepped onto a Ducati for the first time, so how will Marquez’s time at the Bologna brand go?