What Marc Marquez and Marco Bezzecchi might not find favorable news is Gigi Dall’Igna’s forecast of an increased gap between the factory and year-old Ducatis in the upcoming 2024 MotoGP season.
Despite Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin securing the top two spots in the world championship aboard the latest 2023 Desmosedicis, the year-old Ducati bikes, ridden by Marco Bezzecchi (3 GP wins) and Fabio di Giannantonio (1 GP win), along with two Sprint victories for Alex Marquez and one for Bezzecchi, displayed notable success.
This success influenced Bezzecchi’s decision to remain with VR46, rejecting a move to Pramac that would have provided access to the latest Ducati machinery in 2024. Similarly, it played a role in Marc Marquez’s choice to depart Repsol Honda and join his brother Alex at Gresini in the upcoming year.
Despite the impressive results, Ducati Corse’s general manager, Gigi Dall’Igna, highlighted the challenge of implementing significant design changes due to limited winter testing. He acknowledged past mistakes of attempting too many developments in a short time and expressed a cautious approach to introducing new parts. Dall’Igna explained that for the 2024 season, they plan to make some adjustments, potentially widening the gap between the factory GP24 and the previous year’s GP23.
In the upcoming season, Factory (Francesco Bagnaia, Enea Bastianini) and Pramac (Jorge Martin, Franco Morbidelli) riders will continue with the latest Desmosedicis, while VR46 (Marco Bezzecchi, Fabio di Giannantonio) and Gresini (Marc Marquez, Alex Marquez) will pilot year-old bikes. The dynamic between the two specifications will be closely observed in the coming season.