MARQUEZ’S MOTEGI WIN GIVES DALL’IGNA HIS 100TH DUCATI VICTORY

Marc Marquez’s victory at Motegi gave Ducati general manager Gigi Dall’Igna his 100th MotoGP win with the manufacturer. The milestone came with a reminder that the machine he remembers most fondly never won a race—and of how far Ducati had to climb to become a winning force.

Dall’Igna joined Ducati from Aprilia at the end of 2013, when the Desmosedici had lost touch with the front. The team had gone through the season without a podium, and its last victory was Casey Stoner’s 2010 Australian Grand Prix. Valentino Rossi’s two-year spell with Ducati had also ended without a win. The bike had plenty of engine power but struggled to turn and carry speed through corners.

Dall’Igna’s task involved more than redesigning the motorcycle: Ducati needed stronger communication across its racing operation and a clear technical direction. His work helped bring the Desmosedici back to the podium in 2014, before the GP15 became the first Ducati developed entirely under his technical leadership. It scored nine podiums in 2015, including five second places, with Andrea Dovizioso, Andrea Iannone and Danilo Petrucci—but no victories.

“Honestly, the 2015 machine was the most important, because with that machine we made a real step,” Dall’Igna said after the Japanese Grand Prix. “And it was not easy, there was a lot of pressure at that time. So I think that that bike, that machine, stays in my heart more than all the others.” He also described the motorcycle that brought Ducati its first riders’ title under his leadership as especially important.

Iannone delivered Dall’Igna’s first MotoGP victory with Ducati at the 2016 Austrian Grand Prix, ending a drought of almost six years. Dovizioso finished second to complete a one-two. Dall’Igna called Iannone’s win “the most important” and the one he remembers with “the best memories.” Speaking after Marquez’s Motegi win, he said: “The first one that comes to mind is definitely Iannone’s in Austria, because it was my first victory with Ducati and it meant a lot.”

The championship breakthrough arrived in 2022, when Pecco Bagnaia became Ducati’s first world champion since Casey Stoner. Ducati has taken the riders’ title every season since. Bagnaia leads the manufacturer’s 100-win tally with 31 victories, ahead of Marquez on 20 and Dovizioso on 14. In total, 14 riders have contributed to the milestone; Bagnaia finished eighth at Motegi.

Dall’Igna said he had not known Marquez’s win was Ducati’s 100th, and that the sticker marking the achievement on the bike in parc fermé came as “a real surprise.” He thanked Ducati employees and riders for helping make the results possible, describing the milestone as a source of pride. Asked what had changed since Iannone’s 2016 victory, he joked: “The fact that I’m old! To reach these numbers, obviously, it takes a lot of years.”

“For sure it’s a golden era for us! Because we get great results! I think it’s really difficult to do better than this,” Dall’Igna said. He credited the team’s accumulated knowledge and steady progress, adding that it should help Ducati face future rule changes. He also noted how much MotoGP machinery has evolved over the past decade, with aerodynamics and ride-height devices becoming major features, and said Ducati had done its job as a technical innovator.

Dall’Igna praised Marquez for the latest milestone: “Marc was simply extraordinary, and in these last races he’s doing everything right, so congratulations to him and the whole team.” Ducati is preparing for the 2027 regulations and a new tyre supplier, with important tests still to come. The new source also reports that Pedro Acosta is set to join Marquez in Ducati’s line-up in 2027.