Ducati Motor Holding CEO Claudio Domenicali presented the Bologna-based factory’s official MotoGP team—along with the new “Open”-specification Desmosedici GP14 in its official colors—today at the annual Audi Forum in Munich, Germany. Joining Domenicali on stage were Ducati Corse General Manager Gigi Dall’Igna, Ducati Corse Sporting Director Paolo Ciabatti and riders Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow. Here are a few highlights from the event:
Claudio Domenicali: “The new technical and sporting decisions that the company has decided to take will allow us to compete once again with the spirit that has always characterized the women and the men who work in Ducati.”
Gigi Dall’Igna: “Coming to work in Ducati Corse is probably the most important challenge of my life. I am motivated by the results of testing at Sepang and Phillip Island. At the moment, the most important thing is to continue with the development of the bike, and the choices that we have made will allow us to move forward and improve.
“We are satisfied with the lap times in the last tests, but also the consistency of the times, which are backed up by the riders’ comments. Ducati has significantly reduced the gap to its rivals, and we are confident we can make further steps forward during the season.”
Paolo Ciabatti: “After three difficult seasons without any significant results, the changes in organization that we have made in our structure for this season are producing their first results. The encouraging results we obtained in the last tests give us hope for the championship that is about to start.
“We know that we still need to do a lot of work to further reduce the gap separating us from the front-runners, but we are convinced we have made the right decisions and so we are very optimistic.”
Andrea Dovizioso: “I am very happy with the way the preseason tests went because we managed to improve more than expected, and this gives me a lot of confidence. Thanks to the work of Gigi, and by making a few balance changes, the bike is now more manageable, goes better, and we succeeded in doing the times we did in the recent tests.
“Losail is a very difficult track, but I think we will be quite competitive, even though we still have a few doubts about our effective race pace. In any case, we have reduced the gap from last year, and today we are much more competitive.”
Cal Crutchlow: “I’m excited about the season ahead, and I think Qatar is going to be good for us. The team have been working well, and especially in Australia, I felt we were doing a good job. We still have some things to try with the bike, but I’m excited to start the season in what I feel is not too bad a shape.”
The 2014 FIM MotoGP World Championship kicks off March 23 with the Grand Prix of Qatar at the Losail International Circuit in Doha.
Ducati Motor Holding CEO Claudio Domenicali presented the Bologna-based factory’s official MotoGP team—along with the new “Open”-specification Desmosedici GP14 in its official colors—today at the annual Audi Forum in Munich, Germany. Joining Domenicali on stage were Ducati Corse General Manager Gigi Dall’Igna, Ducati Corse Sporting Director Paolo Ciabatti and riders Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow. Here are a few highlights from the event:
Claudio Domenicali: “The new technical and sporting decisions that the company has decided to take will allow us to compete once again with the spirit that has always characterized the women and the men who work in Ducati.”
Gigi Dall’Igna: “Coming to work in Ducati Corse is probably the most important challenge of my life. I am motivated by the results of testing at Sepang and Phillip Island. At the moment, the most important thing is to continue with the development of the bike, and the choices that we have made will allow us to move forward and improve.
“We are satisfied with the lap times in the last tests, but also the consistency of the times, which are backed up by the riders’ comments. Ducati has significantly reduced the gap to its rivals, and we are confident we can make further steps forward during the season.”
