For a victory for Marc Marquez? Ducati assures to further develop last year’s bike until the end of the season – gap to the factory bike bigger than 2023
Whoever rides a Ducati from the previous year in MotoGP usually falls behind the current factory bikes as the season progresses. This is because the more developed they are, the bigger the gap becomes. At the same time, there are usually only a few updates for the previous year’s models
For the 2024 MotoGP season, however, Ducati plans to continue releasing updates for last year’s GP23 bike until the end of the year. According to General Director Gigi Dall’Igna, the bike has already taken a step forward in the last 12 months and will be further improved over the course of the year.
“As always, everything comes from understanding certain mechanisms and certain problems,” said Dall’Igna in an interview with Sky Sport Italia. “If you understand certain things, then it is easier to apply solutions.”
“So we will do what we can improve on the GP23 – and continue to do so throughout the rest of the year,” the Ducati boss assures us.
Both the Gresini and VR46 teams will compete in 2024 with the old version of the Desmosedici Only the factory teams and the Pramac squad have access to the GP24, the latest machine built in the Borgo Panigale factory.
Ducati has taken a big step forward in MotoGP this year. The brand has already won nine of the ten Grands Prix so far – all with the GP24.
The top three places in the riders’ standings are also occupied by riders with the current Ducati factory machine. Gresini’s Marc Marquez, the best-placed rider on the GP23, is in fourth place and 62 points behind leader Jorge Martin, who is three points ahead of Francesco Bagnaia.
In 2023, Ducati riders were still able to take victories on the then GP22, but this year it seems to have become increasingly difficult to be successful on anything other than the latest model. Dall’Igna also acknowledges this.
He confirms that the GP24 is a step ahead of its predecessor and praises its ability to be fast on a variety of tracks: “As always, we are trying to work on the problems and I think we have done a good job.”
“We have definitely improved the GP24 in the areas where the GP23 was a little weaker. This was evident at Silverstone, but also at other tracks. I have to say that the guys at home have done a really good job. “
