Ducati’s MotoGP link from Stoner to Bagnaia

“All through 2019 Pecco’s crew chief Cristian [Gabarrini] and his electronics engineer Tommy [Pagano] had discussed this with him,” factory team manager Davide Tardozzi told me in September 2020. “Finally in Thailand he understood he had to follow their advice.”

“The main difference between Pecco and our factory riders Andrea [Dovizioso] and Danilo [Petrucci] is that Pecco carries much more corner speed. The styles of Andrea and Danilo used to work so well, but not with the 2020 rear tyre.”

Michelin’s new-for-2020 rear slick, with its softer, more squidgy casing, needs a smoother technique, which is exactly how Bagnaia rides, just like Lorenzo, so his style was obviously Ducati’s future.

The big plus here was that Bagnaia’s corner speed also helped fix the Desmosedici’s age-old turning problem.

“With the new rear tyre Pecco has maximised his riding style and although he hasn’t fixed the Ducati’s turning problem, his way of riding minimises the problem,” added Tardozzi.

“I had some good races in 2020,” continued Bagnaia. “By 2021 I knew the Ducati very well and we had adapted the setting for my corner-speed style, so now the bike is sweeter for that and I have a great feeling with the front of the bike, which gives me a lot of confidence in braking and entry.”

Ducati did its bit for the turning issue by introducing Formula 1-inspired diffusers for 2021, which accelerate airflow beneath the fairing to create an area of low pressure that sucks the bike into the asphalt, improving grip and thereby turning.

Giribuola, who guided Bastianini to be one of the fastest riders, may be a crucial loss

Subtle but important changes to the 2022 Desmosedici confused Bagnaia and Ducati in the early stages of this season, causing defeats and crashes. But once Gabarrini and his fellow engineers had found a setting that once again allowed him to brake and enter as fast as he can the 25-year-old was on his way, taking six wins between May and September and taking the title lead from Fabio Quartararo with his podium finish two races ago in Australia.

This weekend all Bagnaia needs to secure the title is finish 14th or better, even if Quartararo wins the race. In other words it will take a crash or a mechanical to end his hopes.

Bagnaia and Gabarrini will stay together for 2023 but Ducati will lose two of its top crew chiefs for next year, due to KTM’s aggressive hiring policy, which has had the Austrian factory raiding some of Ducati’s top talent over the last few years. The Italian marque has the best bike on the grid, so it makes sense for KTM, currently contesting only its seventh MotoGP season, to lure engineers from Bologna to Mattighofen, especially since both factories use V4 engines.

The crew chiefs making the move are Enea Bastianini’s and Jack Miller’s right-hand men Alberto Giribuola and Cristhian Pupulin.

Giribuola may be a crucial loss to Ducati, because he was Dovizioso’s crew chief when the Italian won so many races for the brand and has guided Bastianini from MotoGP rookie to one of the fastest riders on the grid. Giribuola will assume a senior technical role at KTM, where he will join Francesco Guidotti, who ended ten years at Pramac Ducati to become team manger of the factory KTM squad this year, and Fabiano Sterlacchini, who left Ducati in 2021 after 17 years, including eight as the factory’s MotoGP technical coordinator, to become KTM’s MotoGP technical director.

Pupulin, who has been at Ducati for 21 years, will remain as Miller’s crew chief at KTM.

Of course, the big question behind this game of musical chairs is how much it will affect next year’s expected duel between Bagnaia and new factory team-mate Bastianini? Without a doubt, losing Giribuola isn’t a good thing, but Bastianini is confident he will work well with new crew chief Marco Rigamonti, currently Johann Zarco’s sidekick at Pramac Ducati. Meanwhile Zarco will renew his relationship with his former Moto2 crew chief Massimo Branchini.