‘Jack needed a race like Jerez’
The first win of the season came in Jerez where Ducati had not won for 15 years…
“Until recently Jerez gave us little satisfaction, but I was more confident this year, there were many positives. At Jerez the engine counts practically for nothing, indeed, the power is even an irritation so one of our strengths was less there.”
Jack Miller had a complicated start to the season. The tears after his victory showed what it meant…
“I had been thinking a lot about Jack. He had collected less points than he could have and this can be a moment when a rider can enter a negative spiral that brings him down. I was afraid, but he reacted well.”
Is Miller’s potential now unlocked? “We never had doubts about his talent, but Jack needed a race like Jerez.”
Ducati often had the reputation of ‘eating riders’. Did you protect Jack? “I don’t know how it was before but
I no longer consider the current Ducati ‘eats riders’. We have always been close to them, trying to give them what it takes for the best possible result. But it can happen that sometimes we go into conflict.”
And Pecco’s second at Jerez sees him lead the championship… “This is a nice surprise, it makes me doubly happy.”
Is Quartararo the most dangerous opponent for the championship? “It is still early, many riders can demonstrate more than they have done so far.”
The next three circuits are historically good for Ducati…
“At Le Mans and Mugello, yes. At Barcelona it is more perplexing. Every year the level of grip drops a lot, I don’t know what to expect. It will be the next real test we will face.”
With news of Valentino Rossi’s future team is there a possible agreement with Ducati and could you produce six official bikes for 2022: factory, Pramac and VR46? “We are talking to everyone. It’s a matter of time and adequate budget. Ducati has the skills to make six official bikes, no problem. Every team needs to present to their sponsors a programme for riders and motorcycles. It is more a problem for teams than us. For Pramac we have a verbal agreement and are sorting the details. I think that it can be announced at Mugello.”
‘Pecco leading the series is a nice sur rise’