Ever since he joined Ducati as Ducati Corse Manager, Gigi Dall’Igna has spoken a few times of the importance of a manufacturer to have a team in lower classes to get the best riders while they are young, to teach them how to do things if they want to become MotoGP champions.
Ducati, in light of these words from Dall’Igna, started to dream about having a Moto3 team and join the fight with Honda and KTM for that title, securing young talents before they get to their rivals.
But that Moto3 project has now been put on hold.
Paolo Ciabatti, Ducati sporting manager, confirms the Italian brand plans to enter Moto3, but also confirms the team has more important things to focus before entering that class
“For now we have other priorities. MotoGP is our focus. And we also have to develop the V4 (for World Superbike). The Moto3 idea exists, but there’s nothing real about that. We haven’t hired any mechanics for Moto3, and until now no one in Ducati has worked for the Moto3 project. There’s no fixed plan of when the Moto3 project is to begin”.
With Ducati getting more MotoGP wins this season than they had last season by this time of the season, and with the Panigale V4 set to debut next season in World Superbike, with Ducati working round the clock to develop that race bike, it’s normal the Moto3 project is on hold.
But for how long will Ducati stay out of Moto3 and let other manufacturers “steal” the young talents?