Ducati is experiencing one of the best moments in its history, with Andrea Dovizioso's place as vice-World Champion last year, the best result in its history after Casey Stoner's title. At the economic level, Ducati in 2017 sold more motorcycles than ever (55) and made a profit of 871 million euros. It has increased by 51% in the last five years.
In the MotoGP World Championship, Dovizioso is the leader after winning in Qatar, while in Superbike Davies et Melandri win the races and play for the title, recognizes Claudio Domenicali, its CEO.
“Yes, it is a good moment for the company, the work of all the people in Borgo Panigale and in the rest of the world is paying off, it is a brand that has a lot of passion, not only with its customers, but also with people. It's just the beginning, there has only been one race in MotoGP and two in Superbike, everything is good, but there is a lot of work to do.
“Andrea is the image of Ducati. His photos fill our concessions. This even surprises their bosses. Dovi is very technical, and after six years, he knows his bike very well, as well as its weak and strong points.
“He knows that his bike has a lot of acceleration and a lot of speed, which gives him great mental strength, great serenity. He feels strong, he is calmer, he feels very good with his bike, which makes him very difficult to beat because he is very aware of what he can do and what he cannot TO DO. »
This is why, according to Marca.com, it is shocking that, unlike Honda with Márquez and Yamaha with Red and Viñales, Ducati did not renew Dovi's contract.
“Andrea has become a very important rider for Ducati, he called himself DesmoDovi, I think there are a lot of elements to be able to work together for a long time. This is the sixth year together, both sides intend to continue together.
“But we are not in a hurry because we will surely find a good solution to continue racing with him for the next two years, so why not continue? »
Domenicali in tuttomotoriweb.com maintains that there is no urgency to seal the continuity of Dovi and Jorge Lorenzo… “The bike is going very well, we have different riders who are using it well, we want to see how the next races go, how everything evolves because our first objective would be to continue with Dovi and Jorge.
“They started a job and we don’t want to leave it halfway. On the other hand, to continue we have to find a solution, we want to give Jorge some time to see if he has somehow found his balance, » he said, giving clues on the economic question, one of the keys to defining the two contracts. Basically, how do you increase Dovi's salary and reduce Lorenzo's and keep all parties happy? A whole exercise in financial tightrope walking.
The head of the Ducatista company was in Losail, he was not clear on what the Mallorcan is missing to fully succeed with a Desmosedici, although he sent a message: “ It's difficult to say, we analyze it in depth, also with Jorge himself, it cost him dearly at the beginning, but he has improved a lot since the middle of last year, even in Valencia, in the last race he was very fast.
“In the first race of this season he was very unlucky with the brake problem. But in winter, his tests were very fast at Sepang. Maybe Jorge is a little nervous. It costs a little expensive, but Jorge has great talent, that's for sure. No doubts. I am sure that as soon as he is calmer, more focused, he will be very strong “, he concluded.
Photos © Ducati
