INTERVIEW
DUCATI CORSE GENERAL MANAGER LUIGI DALL'IGNA
P104
to find after the last hurrah of
the 1098 in 2011. With a major
change of design philosophy,
the Panigale seemed to have
lost more of Ducati's traditional
World Superbike advantages
than it gained.
To rub insult into the gap-
ing injury of losing on a con-
sistent basis, Aprilia took over
the mantle of Italy's best World
Superbike manufacturer thanks
to the vee four techno-tiger that
was, and is, the RSV-4.
The Ducati MotoGP project
also went off course in the post
Casey Stoner era, after much
initial success. Even Valentino
Rossi wasn't able to win on the
vee-four Duke.
Something had to be done.
And clearly, it has been done.
The resurgence of Ducati
Corse, in both MotoGP and
World Superbike classes, has
been unmistakable in 2014 and
particularly in 2015, with strong
podium performances in Mo-
toGP and even a straight up race
win for Chaz Davies in World
Superbike at Motorland Aragon.
There have been lots of
changes and personnel move-
ments within Ducati Corse in
recent times, but one appears
more significant than most, in
terms of pure on-track showings.
The man behind many of the
new-look Ducati Corse's tech-
nical improvements is former
Aprilia Racing chief Luigi 'Gigi'
Dall'Igna. On his watch, since
he joined Ducati in the winter of
2013-14, Ducati has returned to
more like its former self, and with
competitiveness in both major
global racing classes now head-
ing in an upward trajectory.
We caught up with Dall'Igna
at the Imola World Superbike
round, where he explained how
the change had been achieved.
How much percentage of
your time and resources goes
into MotoGP and how much
into World Superbike? Some
said it used to be as much as
90 percent to 10 percent?
For me, 70 percent to 30 per-
cent. 90 percent to 10 percent
Chaz Davies
leads Ducati's
effort in World
Superbike.
