Rumors about Marc Marquez anger Tardozzi, who responds
Aprilia’s dominance at Mandalika has reignited the debate over Ducati’s competitiveness, but Davide Tardozzi rejects criticism of the Desmosedici’s development and denies that the technical project was built around Marc Marquez’s needs: “If we look at the raw results and leave Mandalika just two points behind, that’s a success for us. It’s clear that the real problem remains: Aprilia has proven to be superior on this track, in particular. To be honest, we were hoping for a slightly better result—that’s the truth.”
“We’ll see how things go on other tracks, like Phillip Island; they’ll give us further insight. Even on the Australian track, there may be some wide turns that favor the bike from Noale. If we hold our own there, I believe the World Championship is still within reach. Race by race, there are still plenty of points up for grabs.”
The most sensitive issue, however, concerns the Desmosedici’s technical design. The difficulties encountered by Bagnaia, compared to the results achieved by Marquez, have fueled discussions about the hypothesis that the bike’s development has been geared primarily toward the Spanish rider’s characteristics, sacrificing the balance that had previously allowed Ducati to win with different riders.
Tardozzi firmly rejects this interpretation, arguing that the differences in performance between the riders do not indicate a particular focus on the Spanish champion’s needs. According to the team manager, the team’s work has been aimed at putting all riders in a position to perform at their best, giving them the freedom to choose the solutions best suited to their riding style: “There are the Aprilias, and in any case, it’s absolutely not true that Marc Marquez tailored the bike’s development to himself—it’s absolutely not true. The bike wasn’t built just for him; that’s just bar talk. We’ve worked to get the best out of all our riders; some have found it suited them, and others haven’t”.
“For example, Bagnaia has a different fairing than Marquez and used different aerodynamics. Each of the factory riders has the option to choose the equipment that best suits them. We don’t build the bike for Marc Marquez—that’s not how it works,” concluded Tardozzi.
