Ducati staff supervisor Davide Tardozzi insists it is going to be ‘very straightforward’ to handle MotoGP champions Francesco Bagnaia and new signing Marc Marquez in the identical storage this season.
Though Ducati needed to navigate an all-Desmosedici Bagnaia vs Pramac’s Jorge Martin title battle for the previous two seasons, 2025 seems to be set to be the primary time two Official staff riders have gone head-to-head for the championship.
Many are predicting fireworks, ultimately.
However former racer Tardozzi – whose heart-on-a-sleeve response to the highs and lows of racing are often caught on digicam within the Ducati storage – is adamant champions are simpler to work with than newcomers.
“I cannot change my strategy as a result of ultimately it’s far more straightforward to work with champions than with younger ‘children’,” Tardozzi stated on the Ducati staff launch.
“I already know very nicely Pecco, whereas I’m beginning to know Marc. I feel it is going to be very straightforward. And what helps my opinion is the respect that I see between them.
“They converse loads. They’re working collectively to attempt to enhance the bike after which ultimately it is going to be the racetrack that may say who’s in entrance and who’s within the again.
“However that is one thing that whoever is behind will take as a stimulation to be higher for the next race. So I’ve little question that it is going to be very straightforward to work with them.”
The Italian, 65, pledged: “As we did up to now, we are going to assist each riders. We’ve the facility to do it. We’ll assist these two champions – as a result of we now have two champions, not solely two riders – and we’re proud to have them.
“We’ll assist them in one of the best ways, and if one or the opposite will take a special method [with set-up or parts], we are going to attempt to assist him in one of the best ways.”
Tardozzi gained the primary ever WorldSBK spherical at Donington Park in 1988 and later oversaw eight Ducati Superbike riders’ titles earlier than becoming a member of the manufacturing facility in MotoGP.
For a few years, Tardozzi confronted Marquez as a rival, the Repsol Honda rider thwarting Ducati’s title hopes with Andrea Dovizioso in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
Nonetheless, there have been some thrilling victories by Dovi towards Marquez, equivalent to a last-turn showdown at Austria in 2017, with Tardozzi on the centre of the post-race celebrations.
“We already spoke with Marc about that!” Tardozzi stated. “I used to be so completely happy once we beat him as a result of I knew that we had been beating the perfect rider of the second.
“So once we fought with him, I used to be tremendous completely happy and the staff was tremendous completely happy as a result of beating Marc on these instances was for us one thing unbelievable.”
Bagnaia handed Tardozzi his first MotoGP titles as a staff supervisor in 2022 and 2023 earlier than shedding out to Martin on the ultimate spherical of final 12 months.
Ignored by Ducati in favour of Marquez, Martin and the number one plate are shifting to Aprilia this season.
