Three photos speak eloquently about the situation at the Japanese MotoGP Grand Prix in the Ducati factory garage: the “wrong rider” of the team led the race and fought with the “wrong partner” – Jack Miller and Jorge Martin argued for victory, while Bagnaia and Bastianini hung around on the border of the TOP 10, and There is no need to say how the Quarararo persecution ended. The “wrong” racers?!
After a confident start, Jack Miller and Jorge Martin fought for victory and a place on the podium, restraining the attacks of Brad Binder from KTM. In their place, in theory, should have been Pecco Bagnaia and Enea Bastianini, but both hold a completely different race.
Miller won an enchanting victory, while Pecco Bagnaia crashed. Such delight… and disappointment at the same moment in Ducati Corse has probably not been experienced since the 2018 Italian Grand Prix, when Jorge Lorenzo snapped the entire Ducati management on the nose, winning the long-awaited first victory aboard Desmosedici. And where? A few kilometers from Borgo Panigale!..
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Luigi Dall’Igna, unlike Ducati Lenovo Team manager Davide Tardozzi, took the fall of Bagnaia quite calmly on the last lap. The temperamental Tardozzi was forced to squirm by this event, and it seems that MotoGP operators are preparing in advance to shoot this little “tragic show” to the delight of the audience.
Dall’Igna, however, was calm only outwardly. Here’s what he said after the Motegi race:
“[In my life there have been] only a few cases when I have experienced such contradictory feelings throughout one lap, they are so contradictory to each other that I do not know which emotion I should stop at – joyful or annoying because it is not only my emotion but the whole team.”
“In a race where we literally dominated, where we achieved the result that any factory team dreams of, we lost completely. I’m really happy for Jack because he deserved this victory – he’s one of us, and I’m happy.”
“At the same time, Pecco has rolled back in the championship. His fall stings the most… It was a mistake that could have been avoided. But Pecco’s fighting spirit – that’s why we love him – forced him to go to the end. What else should I add? The highest degree of pride and disappointment in one bottle. But the game is not over yet. Go ahead, Ducati!”