Why Ducati’s defeat in MotoGP 2024 is actually a historic triumph

Since last Sunday, when Jorge Martin crossed the line in third place in the final race of the season, many members of the MotoGP paddock, as well as fans, have been raising their hands in apology to Ducati.

The Borgo Panigale brand spent more than a year ensuring that all four riders competing on the latest specification Desmosedici would have exactly the same technical coverage for their title assaults. That meant Francesco Bagnaia, the champion, and Enea Bastianini, his team-mate in the factory team, as well as Martin and Franco Morbidelli – the pair competing under the Pramac umbrella – the only team with direct support from the manufacturer.

Despite the insistence of all the Italian company’s executives, both CEO Claudio Domenicali and general manager Gigi Dall’Igna, the vast majority of the travelling caravan following the event were in disbelief. How could Ducati allow a satellite team to be champion on its bike? Where many saw the possibility as a threat to the brand that cares most about its image, its managers identified an opportunity to turn the established discourse on its head, and make another splash.

Barely a week after Martin emerged from Barcelona as champion, after a delightful give-and-take with Bagnaia, who accepted defeat like a gentleman, the general perception is that Ducati’s plan worked out well for the Bologna-based manufacturer, which has turned a defeat into a historic triumph – not just because the champion emulated Valentino Rossi, the last rider to win the crown as part of an independent team, in 2001 with Honda in the two-stroke 500cc era.

Although it is true that Martin is already part of Aprilia, with whom he made his debut last Tuesday in the collective test in Barcelona, nobody should be fooled by the possibility that the Spaniard could use the #1, something that has probably not been decided yet. “If Jorge wants to, Aprilia will take the #1, but what he will not take is the title,” explained Ducati sporting director Mauro Grassilli to Autosport.

The Ducati customer’s sense of belonging is probably the strongest among those competing in MotoGP. This case, with some nuances, is similar to Ferrari in Formula 1. It is this same collective that has been the focus of the campaign that presides over the brand’s website, under the title The Fantastic Four, in allusion to the quartet formed by Martin, Bagnaia, Marc Marquez and Enea Bastianini at the top of the points table.