Marco Bezzecchi
Luigi Dall’Igna found himself with arguably MotoGP’s greatest rider pairing in 2025 with Marc Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia, and he knew his plan for the season right from the start.
Ducati signed Marquez over 2024 champion Jorge Martin, with the Spaniard demanding a factory seat after one season with Gresini. Alongside Bagnaia, he was expected to battle the Italian for the championship in 2025 – it was anything but a battle.
Marquez dominated the title with 11 Grand Prix wins and 14 Sprint victories, wrapping up the title by Motegi. Meanwhile, Bagnaia offered little to no competition as he struggled to adapt to the GP25 and complained constantly about a lack of feeling.
The new Desmosedici was an evolution of the GP24, with Ducati focusing on reliability over anything else. But Dall’Igna would later admit that Bagnaia was right about the bike after he changed direction with development and made several changes.
Dall’Igna’s ‘ego’ prevented Bagnaia from switching to the GP24 as it would highlight that the GP25 was an inferior machine. Ultimately, the Ducati chief knows the bike is competitive as Marquez won the title in commanding fashion, exactly as he intended.
Luigi Dall’Igna wanted Marc Marquez to be world champion with Ducati – he already favoured him over Pecco Bagnaia
Journalist Manuel Pecino discussed Marquez’s season via his YouTube channel. He stated that the ‘key’ to his success was that Dall’Igna wanted him to be champion on his bike and to see where he could take it after watching Martin, Bagnaia and Enea Bastianini win.
“The key is that Gigi wanted Marc to be world champion. Dall’Igna had won twice with Pecco and wanted to know how far his bike could go,” he said.
“He saw it with Pecco and Bastianini, he saw it with Martín, and he wanted to see how far Márquez could take it. This year he showed him.
“He has a picture of Marc on his nightstand, in addition to pictures of his daughters; he’s absolutely in love with him, and it doesn’t surprise me. Gigi is obsessed with himself and his work, and Márquez has taken that work to the extreme, to points that even he couldn’t have imagined.”
With Dall’Igna’s desire to see Marquez win the title before the season had even started, it suggests that he favoured the Spaniard over Bagnaia in 2025. Naturally, it has paid off handsomely, but it will do no favours for the Italian, who has been demoralised on the other side of the garage all year.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Marc Marquez from net worth to girlfriend
Luigi Dall’Igna is losing patience with Francesco Bagnaia at Ducati
Dall’Igna says it’s ‘impossible’ to imagine what Marquez has done in 2025. He could never have foreseen such dominance, even if his ultimate goal for the season was achieved.
It has been an entirely different story on the other side of the Ducati garage. Bagnaia’s struggles with the same bike have been baffling, especially so in the last few races, having won in Motegi before crashing out from the back in the next two races with the same setup.
Dall’Igna admitted Ducati was losing patience with Bagnaia as his results slumped after the summer break. The team are still struggling to find the right balance with the bike as the season heads into the final two races.
It is clear that Bagnaia is no longer the number one rider at the Borgo Panigale outfit. It is going to take an almighty effort and mental recovery to get back to form, let alone challenge Marquez, who is evidently Dall’Igna’s new golden rider.
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