PERNAT SAYS DALL’IGNA HELPED TRANSFORM MARQUEZ’S APPROACH

Carlo Pernat believes Marc Marquez’s transformation since leaving Honda owes more to what Ducati general manager Luigi Dall’Igna taught him than to the physical changes forced by his injuries. The Spaniard, now 33, has undergone seven operations since 2019 and continues to manage problems with his right arm and shoulder. The impact is visible in his reduced shoulder muscle and has required changes to both his riding and race preparation.

Marquez’s fitness appeared likely to limit his title challenge in 2026, particularly against Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin. He has acknowledged, “It’s me, not the bike,” and has managed his workload since another operation in May. Races including the Dutch and British Grands Prix became occasions to limit the damage. Yet he is now close to an eighth MotoGP crown: at the Portuguese Grand Prix, he needs to outscore Martin by two points in the Sprint, while Bezzecchi will be knocked out of contention if he does not win it.

Pernat praised Marquez’s achievement, saying that even four Aprilias had not been enough to beat him. “Marquez is truly an alien – tremendous!” he told GPOne, adding that the rider had won despite having two fewer Grands Prix. But Pernat argued that Ducati’s influence deserves particular credit.

At Honda, Marquez often rode on instinct and pushed the RC213V to its limits, sometimes crashing repeatedly as he sought to discover where the bike would give way. Pernat recalled that he could fall “almost 40 or 50 a year” and said the Honda was far from competitive. After Marquez moved to Ducati, he endured a difficult period, but Pernat believes Dall’Igna helped him become more technically complete: “Gigi taught him how to fix a bike, to understand how to set it up and to handle it.”

Pernat acknowledged that Marquez’s injuries have also shaped his approach, but said the biggest change came from the knowledge he gained at Ducati. “Everyone says that he changed because of what happened to him, which he now has to manage. Yes, it’s partly true. But I think the greatest strength was precisely the one that Dall’Igna gave him.” He added that Marquez did not need to learn how to ride; rather, he learned to better understand and set up the machine.

Marquez’s career-altering arm injury came at the 2020 Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez. As the Honda fell behind rivals including Ducati, Yamaha and Suzuki, he could no longer compensate for its shortcomings through sheer effort. He left Honda after taking his final podium for the manufacturer in Japan, joined Gresini in 2024 and moved to the factory Ducati team the following season. The switch returned him to the top of MotoGP for the first time since 2019, and he now stands on the brink of another title.