A complicated weekend

It was undoubtedly a most complicated weekend for us of the Factory Team, and yet with an excellent result for Ducati and its young riders, recording Aldeguer's amazing win completed by Alex Marquez's excellent third place.

Firstly, we’re able to celebrate a wonderful Team World Championship title secured after Saturday’s Sprint Race! Winning it on what was our worst weekend of the season says it all about the awesome Championship we are actually having. I dedicate it to our extraordinary team, our girls & boys of outstanding human value over and above their merely technical worth: absolute pros who know how to work together to bring out that extra something that makes all the difference. I’m proud of them all, it is a privilege to be part of a group that has written the sport’s pages of history and, to cap it all, has established itself with a philosophy that is a veritable way of being, living and winning. World champions!

On a day that for us was less than brilliant, the Team Gresini riders made it their business to hand Ducati the absolute record for consecutive podiums in Premier Class! A bright light by the name of Fermin makes the Mandalika track aglow. It is his first win: scored in his MotoGP rookie year, as only true champions are able to do. He is the second youngest rider in history to win a GP, as a matter of fact just behind Marc. Not only did he win but actually dominated, not looking like a rookie at all in taking his first victory. A perfect strategy, a clean and yet aggressive ride: he controlled, pushed, stretched his lead and managed, accumulating an advantage like only an expert champion can do. He certainly made the most of the situation that arose in the race, in a weekend that started on a high note on Friday and continued even better with the second place on Saturday. Alex, for his part, was not as fast as usual, but managed to grab the podium with an intelligent race; this year he has shown incredible consistency, which has earned him the title of “Best Independent Rider” and strengthened his second place in the overall standings. Special praise, therefore, goes to Team Gresini and their valuable and commendable work, congratulations indeed! 

But foremost, we send Marc our heartfelt wishes for a complete recovery, without any urgency or unexpected events. Fortunately, time is on our side. It was a weekend in which everything was complicated and most difficult to digest. We will have to evaluate all technical data with the necessary calm and patience, even more so for Pecco, about who so much has already been said. We will press on with the same convictions and confidence, as always.

Let's just say that Mandalika was one of those weekends that happen, even to us… That is the breaking news of the moment. Every now and then, we also need these predicaments to remind us that nothing is easy and that everything is the result of constant commitment, always.

Forza Ducati!