Pecco Bagnaia or Jorge Martin champion? Ducati boss decides on the issue

At the end of the Japanese Grand Prix, Francesco Bagnaia had the perfect weekend by winning twice in the sprint and main event. Author of the second fastest time during qualifying, the double reigning champion took advantage of the errors made by his competitor, Pedro Acosta. The Tech3 driver managed to climb into pole position, but unfortunately, neither attempt turned into victory for the “Requin de Mazarron”. Thanks to this result, the native of Turin pocketed a total of thirty-seven points over the entire race meeting. Looking at the results of this 2024 campaign, the Italian took eight wins against three for his championship rival, Jorge Martin. For many months, the “Martinator” has never given up first place to Pecco Bagnaia. With four races remaining, both men sometimes made mistakes due to the sudden pressure from both sides. At this stage of the competition, mistakes are no longer allowed.

“The best must win”

With the constructors’ title already in the bag, all that remains is the drivers’ championship to win. In an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, the general director of Ducati Corse, Luigi Dall’Igna, spoke about the rivalry between Jorge Martin and Francesco Bagnaia. According to his words, he declared that he would give as much chance to one as to the other to seize the world crown.

“Whatever the outcome, I believe Ducati will come out well in many aspects. Especially from a sporting point of view, which is perhaps the least obvious. Maybe they never looked at my journey. It’s a sport and it’s right that it stays that way. For me, the best should win. I believe it is significant that we have no longer made any technical innovations, avoiding one being treated better than the other. This is something that we cannot have because it is an evolution that should be given to all drivers who have the GP24. But we can’t, because she’s not ready. The motorcycle therefore remains unchanged. It’s a shame because it’s a good step forward that could help me make the difference, but Ducati has always been clear at all levels and the bikes will remain equal until the end. Others perhaps could have make different choices.”

“The big difference is that driver management is completely different. At the time there was a wall, whereas today there is total sharing of data and work by Ducati to also support Martín. Many Pramac team engineers are also Ducati engineers. And the work we do behind the scenes is exactly the same for Pecco and for Jorge anyway. This must be emphasized. In the two years they fought, I didn’t see a single mistake between them. And I don’t expect to see any by the end. I will do everything to ensure that this is the case.”

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