Paolo Ciabatti is a Ducati factory sporting director who comes out of the 2020 season with the Constructors' World Champion title. Not bad, but there is still a taste of unfinished business. Firstly because Marc Marquez's withdrawal was not taken as an opportunity to finally collect the drivers' championship. Then because this crown among the brands arrived after the sanction imposed on Yamaha following its engine problems. But what Ciabatti remembers is also the situation at Honda which confirmed his theory fiercely fought by Alberto Puig...
Paolo ciabatti takes stock of the 2020 season and notes that, despite a motorcycle GP20 technically at the cutting edge, it is a Suzuki described as the simplest which won the day on the drivers' side with a Joan mir young and talented. The driver therefore makes the difference and on this point, we will recall that Marc Márquez became world champion in 2019 without a starting device, without motorcycle height adjustment and without a rear wheel spoiler.
Enough to call into question the strategy Ducati to always be at the forefront of progress? Even, because Ciabatta remember that we are talking about Marc Marquez, which allows him to put back on the table an argument that exceeds Alberto Puig : without Marc Marquez, Honda is an empty shell… “ When you bring Marc Márquez into play, we are talking about an exceptional driver. I don't want to disappoint anyone at Honda. But I think the 2020 season showed that Marc Márquez has made a big difference at Honda for years ", says Paolo Ciabatta.
Ciabatti: “Marc has been the key figure in the Honda team for six or seven years”
He develops on speedweek : " because in 2020, Nakagami was above all the best Honda rider. Alex Márquez certainly showed good performances in the last third of the season, especially in Aragon, he was super competitive. The same goes for Stefan Bradl, who became stronger and stronger at the end of the season. But there's no denying it: Marc has been the key figure in the Honda factory team for six or seven years ».
Concerning the return of the eight-time World Champion, his brother Alex maintains the hope of a presence from the Qatar. It will be recalled that the Repsol team will welcome a new recruit in the person of a Pol Espargaro came from KTM, and ranked in the top 5 of the last championship MotoGP.
