Marketing director Patrizia Cianetti believes none of Casey Stoner, Marc Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia is the most influential MotoGP rider that Ducati have had to date.
Cianetti believes Stoner, Marquez and Bagnaia are all among the four most important riders that Ducati have had since they returned to MotoGP as a works team in 2003. They have all won premier class titles for the Borgo Panigale brand, and they are the only riders to do so.
Stoner won Ducati’s first-ever MotoGP title in 2007, as the Australian beat Honda rival Dani Pedrosa by 125 points to top the riders’ standings. It took another 15 years for Ducati to be champions again when Bagnaia won the 2022 title, and he even went back-to-back in 2023.
Bagnaia’s titles marked the start of a new era for Ducati, as Jorge Martin also won the 2024 title with their then-satellite squad Pramac. Marquez won the 2025 MotoGP title with five rounds to spare, as well, to cap an historic first season for the Spaniard in the Ducati team.
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Patrizia Cianetti believes Troy Bayliss is the ‘number one’ rider in Ducati’s MotoGP history
Yet Ducati marketing and communications director Cianetti believes Troy Bayliss remains the most influential rider to ever represent the Bologna Bullets in MotoGP. Bayliss led Ducati for their first three years in MotoGP from 2003 to 2005, which came on either side of riding for the brand in the World Superbike Championship from 2000 to 2002 and from 2006 to 2008.
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Cianetti told Fanpage: “I’d say Casey Stoner, Troy Bayliss, Pecco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez. They are four profoundly different riders who have contributed to the company’s history at different times. We could also add Loris Capirossi and Carl Fogarty.
“But if we have to make distinctions, there are the great heroes of the Ducati community. Number one is Troy Bayliss. Troy is beloved. He lights up the hearts of Ducatisti in an incredible, authentic, and genuine way.
“Carl Fogarty was also a great character, perhaps less warm-hearted, a little tougher in true British style, but crucial. In the early 2000s, we used them as the faces of advertising campaigns called Ducati People, with incredible visual power.
“From 2003 to 2007, Loris Capirossi embodied our beginnings in MotoGP. This year, we’re celebrating 100 victories in the premier class, and the first historic signature was his.
“And then there’s Casey Stoner, who brought us our first world championship triumph. A complex person, but a pure talent. At WDW [World Ducati Week], he was moved on stage and received a tremendous ovation from thousands of people.
“Coming to the modern era, Pecco Bagnaia is extraordinary. He brought the world title back to Borgo Panigale, but he also conveyed incredible warmth and empathy. On Saturday night at WDW, the director had to give the order through his headphones to cut the connection because the crowd kept applauding him, doing the wave, and singing along nonstop.
“And then Marquez: Marc is a force to be reckoned with. After Valentino Rossi, I believe he is the rider with the largest social media following globally, a truly international profile that boasts a huge audience. Each of them has different characteristics, but they’re all great professionals who are great to work with.”
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Ducati brought Bayliss to MotoGP in 2003 after he won the 2001 World Superbike title and came second in the 2002 WSBK standings. The Australian’s years in MotoGP were nowhere near as successful, with four podiums to show for his efforts across 43 races in three terms.
Bayliss went back to the World Superbike Championship riding for Ducati in 2006, once his MotoGP adventure ended, and he immediately won the 2006 WSBK title. A third Superbike title even followed with the Bologna Bullets in 2008, before he retired as a full-time rider.
The success that Bayliss enjoyed with Ducati in Superbikes also saw him make a brief return to MotoGP at the 2006 season-ending Valencia Grand Prix as a stand-in for the injured Sete Gibernau. And Bayliss won the 2006 Valencia GP for Ducati, for what proved to be the only victory of his MotoGP career in what was also his final-ever appearance as a MotoGP rider.
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