Davide Tardozzi was a guest at one of our Sports Bars dedicated to SBK, but the opportunity was also perfect to talk for a few minutes about MotoGP, especially after what happened in the week following the Mugello GP. Marc Marquez has in fact been chosen as Bagnaia’s future teammate, while Martìn and Bastianini headed towards Aprilia and KTM respectively.
Marc Marquez’s can be considered Ducati’s third bet with very high profile riders, after those done first with Valentino Rossi and then with Jorge Lorenzo. A bet that Tardozzi however judges to be completely different.
“It’s a completely different bet – Tardozzi said – for the preparation that we have today as a manufacturer, as a bike, as management and as technical management. This was the real mistake when we took Valentino to Ducati, we weren’t prepared. Ducati was not prepared to handle Valentino Rossi, today we are largely prepared. I also remember that we have the two-time world champion. When you manage Francesco Bagnaia, I don’t see why you can’t also manage Marc Marquez. It’s not that Pecco is any less. He’s a driver who is demonstrating that he wants to win, then he does it in the most elegant way possible and I’m talking about what happens off the track.”
It will be a good comparison with Pecco.
“Pecco knows what he’s worth, he believes in himself, he has confidence with the extreme bike, and also with the team. You just need to look at some of his races to understand it. This too is a performance.”
In fact, for Marc it will be like entering someone else’s house at first.
“Marc comes to Pecco Bagnaia’s backyard. He has made statements towards Pecco that are flattering and were not made ad hoc. When Marc speaks, he always knows exactly what he is saying, he never speaks out of turn. I’ve never heard him do it. When he makes a statement, it is the truth and often those statements also have a specific purpose. So he is a very intelligent boy and will be very careful when he comes to us. I’m sure he will enter with cautious feet and will try to understand how we move. Because in the garage he manages Ducatis and they don’t manage the riders.”
Maybe this third bet with a big player will work.
“With Valentino the timing was completely wrong, with Jorge Lorenzo in my opinion he was wrong to sign too early with Honda. If he had waited even just a few days, the story could have turned out differently. Jorge did 30.9 in Misano which was shocking and he did it in 2017. It’s a shame.”
