Usually very verbose, Gigi Dall'Igna's silence during these last weeks was rather deafening. With the arrival of the GP17, the hopes raised last year by the two victories of the Borgo Panigale machines, as well as by the arrival of Jorge Lorenzo this year, were quickly altered, undoubtedly explaining the silence of the Italian engineer.
But after the rather unexpected third place of the Majorcan driver in Jerez, Gigi Dall'Igna spoke again and took stock of the situation in the columns of GPone.
Gigi Dall'Igna : “I'm honest and I have to say that I would have been crazy if I had expected these results in the first four Grands Prix. I expected better and I'm not happy. We have taken note of what has happened and we have identified the direction to follow, the results are starting to arrive. »
Regarding the latest statements by Jorge Lorenzo, who openly suggested focus more on the chassis than the engine, the boss of the Italian MotoGP team does not intend to simplify the situation: “I don’t think we would focus too much on the subject. We are working on it, but also on the electronics, aerodynamics and chassis. Last year our bike was balanced and, in fact, Dovizioso was the rider who scored the most points since Aragon: 62 points against 53 Rossi, 51 to Lorenzo and 50 to Márquez. At the moment we have no plans for a new chassis. We can work well with the current one thanks to the adjustment possibilities. Currently our problem is with the chassis in the sense that without the fins our bike is not properly balanced. We are the most penalized by this change and we have probably underestimated the disadvantages. This mistake is ours, in the sense that we thought we could make up for it with the new fairing. »
New fairing, however, there was, but this one has just been abandoned and Gigi Dall'Igna explains why: “As Dovizioso says, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. We have better support on the front axle, but we lose too much top speed. Of course we are working on it, but with only two fairings that can be homologated during the season, I prefer to wait a few races to be sure of the benefits. It will be a few months before we see the new one. I'm not crying about this, the rules have changed and we need to find alternative solutions. »
Faithful to the image he gives at the back of the red box, Gigi Dall'Igna concludes: “We know what to do to improve and I have peace of mind. The worst thing you could do immediately would be to create confusion. »
The Ducati team will participate in private tests starting next Monday at the Mugello circuit, before carrying out a new test, reinforced by the presence of Casey Stoner, from May 23 in Barcelona…
