Ducati, Paolo Ciabatti excoriating Valentino Rossi and Mugello

Ducati’s sport director is clear on the spectator flop that partly affected Misano: “There was no Valentino Rossi, it’s a shame if he was eliminated.”

Ducati sport director Paolo Ciabatti in an interview with Speedweek returned to the possible cutting of the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello after 2023. This year’s spectator flop has alarmed Dorna, which has a queue of countries that would like to join the calendar: “The way the World Cup race in Tuscany will continue depends a lot on the success of the 2023 event. It would be a shame if Mugello is eliminated.”

According to Ciabatti, the wrong promotion and the absence of Valentino Rossi were decisive: “The low participation in Mugello 2022 was a combination of many factors. The Italian government did not clarify a month before the May 29 event whether the promoter could sell 100 percent of the tickets or not. The same weekend also saw the Formula 1 GP in Monte Carlo. And the well-known Italian rock star Vasco Rossi held a well-attended concert in the vicinity of Imola. Many things overlapped. The promotion was not ideal, and Valentino Rossi was no longer there as a driver.”

At Misano it was better, but not too much better: “There was an acceptable number of spectators, but not as high as expected, especially when an Italian has won the last three Grand Prix and Aprilia in addition to Ducati is also fighting for the title.”