Gigi Dall’Igna now ‘understands’ why Ducati couldn’t beat Marc Marquez in MotoGP

Ducati general manager Gigi Dall’Igna says he now ‘understands’ how his brand could never beat Marc Marquez to the MotoGP title when he was a Honda rider.

The 32-year-old joined the Ducati ranks last year when he quit Honda to race for the Gresini satellite squad, with whom he won three grands prix and muscled his way into the factory team for 2025.

At the summer break, Marc Marquez has won eight grands prix of the first 12, 11 sprints and holds a 120-point lead in the championship.

While at one time there was reticence from Ducati to have Marquez race one of its bikes, it has proven to be one of the best pairings in MotoGP history.

During his dominant Honda years, when he world champion six times out of seven between 2013 and 2019, Marquez spent several of those seasons battling Ducati for the title.

In 2017, he went up against Andrea Dovizioso and was taken to a final round showdown in Valencia with the Italian - though came out victorious in that chase.

This was just the second time - and so far his last - where he didn’t win the championship prior to the final round, with the first being his rookie campaign in 2013.

Dovizioso and Ducati would prove to be his biggest rival in 2018 and 2019, though Marquez only got more dominant.

In a candid behind-the-scenes moment from Ducati’s ‘Inside’ documentary series, Dall’Igna made this comment to Marquez following Czech Grand Prix celebrations.

“Anyway, I already knew that, but now I understand better why we’ve struggled to win a championship so far [against you].”

Marquez’s victory at the Czech Grand Prix last weekend was his fifth in a row, as well as his fifth successive sprint/grand prix double.

It made him the first Ducati rider in history to win four races in a row, while it brought his career tall of premier class victories to 70 as he now sits second all-time.