Ducati teases special “renaissance” livery for Italian MotoGP

Ducati has teased a special livery for this weekend’s Italian MotoGP to be worn by the factory bikes of Francesco Bagnaia and championship leader Marc Marquez.

Marc Marquez will arrive in Mugello having won there only once, in 2014 when it was his sixth victory from a famous 10-in-a-row run to open what was his second MotoGP season, but with a 32-point championship lead over Alex Marquez, who has two podiums to his name at Mugello (including one win) but both are in Moto2.

The Mugello MotoGP race has been won by factory Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia in each of the last three years, with the Italian also taking victory in both Sprints to have been run at the Tuscan venue.

That win streak includes last year’s Italian Grand Prix, in which Bagnaia and then-teammate Enea Bastianini, as well as the whole Ducati Lenovo Team, were dressed in the blue of the Italian national sports teams ahead of the 2024 UEFA European Championship and Olympic Games.

This year, the Ducati Lenovo Team will take a different inspiration (thanks at least in part to the absence of major international sporting competitions from this summer’s schedule), namely the Italian Renaissance that flourished in Florence – the medieval city located around 55km (34 miles) from the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello.

No images have yet been released of the livery, those will presumably wait until either Saturday evening or Sunday morning, but Ducati has posted a teaser video on its social media pages which implies quite a detailed design and some sparkly paint.

"The Italian excellence, made of art and ingenuity," the caption to the video reads.

"Renaissance genius and Ducati vision blend into a one-time tribute. On June 22 at Mugello, Marc [Marquez] and Pecco [Francesco Bagnaia] will become modern knights riding through history with a special livery inspired by Florence, cradle of the Renaissance.

"Leonardo. Machiavelli. Two souls. Two visions.
Now reborn in racing form.
Stay tuned."

Even the Renaissance, though, can seemingly not escape a green Monster claw.