It’s just the beginning

This world championship is shaping up to be both demanding and exhilarating, with expectations already high as we look forward to the upcoming challenges.

First and foremost, congratulations to our opponents that have asserted themselves with full merit. Their competitiveness is not surprising; we witnessed it particularly during last season’s closing stages and even more so during pre-season testing. The statistics highlight that we didn’t make the podium after 88 consecutive races, and for the first time in 102 GPs our brand is missing from the top five. This indicates that we must close the gap quickly, but we realise this without causing ourselves any panic. It is a natural cycle, a drop in performance can happen, especially after such a long period of sustained successes. Our efforts now are aimed at analysing the data and at introducing set-up refinements in the coming races, ensuring that our riders can be more competitive. There is certainly work to be done, yet we are well aware that this was only the first race of the season. The calendar is long and features diverse tracks; we will only have a true sense of our standing against the competition after the next few rounds.

In short, today was a GP we knew we had to manage with smartness. Marc was doing exactly that, putting all his mind and heart into it. However, he was truly unlucky: firstly in the Sprint Race, where a questionable decision by the FIM MotoGP Stewards cost him the win, and then in the GP itself where, despite some difficulties, a podium was well within reach before he was forced to retire.

Forza Ducati!