Carlo Pernat thinks Luigi Dall’Igna has done something ‘diabolically genius’ at Ducati

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Ducati have the two favourites to win the 2025 MotoGP riders’ in their ranks with Marc Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia but the ‘genius’ of Luigi Dall’Igna stuns Carlo Pernat.

The start of the 2025 MotoGP season is now just around the corner with the Thai Grand Prix kicking this year off on March 2. Ducati dominated at Buriram in 2024, as the Borgo Panigale squad did at most tracks, with Enea Bastianini winning the Sprint and Bagnaia the main race.

Bagnaia also took pole position for the Thai GP when MotoGP visited Buriram in October. He turned the P1 start into a race win ahead of Jorge Martin, who ultimately got the riders’ title and took the No1 plate to Aprilia. Ducati snubbed Martin to promote Marquez from Gresini.

Ducati reverting to their 2024 bike in 2025 proves Luigi Dall’Igna’s ‘diabolical’ genius

Marquez is already playing mind games with Bagnaia as the six-time premier class champion gets settled in at Ducati. Yet pre-season testing was not flawless for the Bologna Bullets with Ducati set to hand Marquez and Bagnaia slightly new versions of their 2024 bike in Thailand.

It is now widely expected that Ducati will revert to the GP24 after the GP25 failed to impress at Sepang or Buriram. The new GP25 engine proved the most underwhelming as the engine braking proved difficult to fine-tune. But Ducati will also revert back to the 2024-spec frame.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Ducati from the MotoGP team’s riders to hierarchy

Bagnaia quipped that Ducati will field a GP24.9 in 2025 with further upgrades in the pipeline for the factory riders. But historic MotoGP rider manager Pernat believes Ducati reverting to their 2024 chassis just proves the ‘diabolical’ genius of the crew’s general manager Dall’Igna.

“Those who call it a ‘step back’ still haven’t understood what kind of genius – even diabolical at times – Gigi Dall’Igna is,” Pernat told Men on Wheels. “Gigi fooled everyone.

“Those who were Dall’Igna’s gregarious at Ducati are now put in charge of projects for other brands, in charge of their own. I think this should be enough to understand the measure of a man who is light years ahead and who can afford to do what he wants.

“Ducati haven’t taken any steps back. Since the end of last season, it was quite clear that the 2024 Desmosedici would be touched very little.”

Ducati could not risk homologating the GP25 engine before the 2026 development ban

It would have been a risk for Ducati to persist with the GP25 engine after pre-season testing left the Borgo Panigale squad questioning its performance. Ducati have to homologate their engine for not just the 2025 MotoGP season but also for 2026 due to the development ban.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Francesco Bagnaia from net worth to race number

Given the dominance that Ducati had last season with the GP24 the Bologna Bullets should remain a cut above the field, even with Yamaha and Honda able to continue developing with MotoGP’s concession rules. KTM and Aprilia must join Ducati in homologating their engines.

Ducati bikes won all but one Grand Prix and three Sprint Races last season to see the Italian giant clinch the constructors’ title with 722 points ahead of KTM on 327 and Aprilia on 302. Even if that margin slips in 2025, Marquez and Bagnaia will believe the riders’ title is theirs.