Since last Sunday, when Jorge Martin crossed the line in third place in the final race of the season, many members of the MotoGP paddock, as well as fans, have been raising their hands in apology to Ducati.
The Borgo Panigale brand spent more than a year ensuring that all four riders competing on the latest specification Desmosedici would have exactly the same technical coverage for their title assaults. That meant Francesco Bagnaia, the champion, and Enea Bastianini, his team-mate in the factory team, as well as Martin and Franco Morbidelli - the pair competing under the Pramac umbrella - the only team with direct support from the manufacturer.
Despite the insistence of all the Italian company's executives, both CEO Claudio Domenicali and general manager Gigi Dall'Igna, the vast majority of the travelling caravan following the event were in disbelief. How could Ducati allow a satellite team to be champion on its bike? Where many saw the possibility as a threat to the brand that cares most about its image, its managers identified an opportunity to turn the established discourse on its head, and make another splash.
Barely a week after Martin emerged from Barcelona as champion, after a delightful give-and-take with Bagnaia, who accepted defeat like a gentleman, the general perception is that Ducati's plan worked out well for the Bologna-based manufacturer, which has turned a defeat into a historic triumph - not just because the champion emulated Valentino Rossi, the last rider to win the crown as part of an independent team, in 2001 with Honda in the two-stroke 500cc era.
Although it is true that Martin is already part of Aprilia, with whom he made his debut last Tuesday in the collective test in Barcelona, nobody should be fooled by the possibility that the Spaniard could use the #1, something that has probably not been decided yet. "If Jorge wants to, Aprilia will take the #1, but what he will not take is the title," explained Ducati sporting director Mauro Grassilli to Autosport.
The Ducati customer's sense of belonging is probably the strongest among those competing in MotoGP. This case, with some nuances, is similar to Ferrari in Formula 1. It is this same collective that has been the focus of the campaign that presides over the brand's website, under the title The Fantastic Four, in allusion to the quartet formed by Martin, Bagnaia, Marc Marquez and Enea Bastianini at the top of the points table.
That is the explicit manifestation of the very even-handed treatment Ducati has given to its riders. With that in mind, it was important to remain consistent in the message, even at delicate moments, such as when Martin's departure was confirmed.
"It was important that we conveyed that even though he was leaving for Aprilia, we would keep our promise and he would be able to compete on equal terms," Grassilli adds. As a marketing expert, the newcomer's work - he made his debut this season replacing Paolo Ciabatti - also involved explaining to the sponsors of the official team that there was a possibility that a Ducati could win: not their own, but a satellite one.
In the run-up to the Barcelona test, Autosport sat down with Dall'Igna and asked him about the strategy behind the decision not to hurt Pramac.
Dall'Igna decided to freeze the development of the GP24, the bike of Martin and Bagnaia, after the British Grand Prix, to ensure that both would have the same weapons to play with for the championship title
"In the end, our bike and our image win. We couldn't afford not to deliver, and we think what happened shows that our values are strong and that we are consistent with them," said the most influential engineer of the modern MotoGP era, whose impact at Ducati goes far beyond mere bike design.
In fact, his support for Martin went right to the very last moment, as evidenced by the advice he gave him on Sunday in Barcelona. "Gigi recommended me to go out with the medium rear tyre, when Pecco went out with the soft one. But it was the one that suited me best. I always felt supported to the maximum," said Martin in the midst of the celebrations.
Artur Vilalta is Ducati's championship communication manager. He, together with Grassilli, has been in charge of setting a line of coherence in the discourse projected, with that of Dall'Igna above the rest. "It was necessary to be prepared to answer certain questions at certain times. There were those who seemed convinced that Ducati would not let Martin win, something that was confirmed to be false," said the Spaniard in a telephone conversation.
Even more important than the discourse adopted was Ducati's management of Pramac, which it replaced with seven engineers and technicians of its own. Dall'Igna's neatness and the care taken to prevent anyone from having the slightest hint of doubt about the treatment of Paolo Campinoti's team can be explained by one very important detail: Dall'Igna decided to freeze the development of the GP24, the bike of Martin and Bagnaia, after the British Grand Prix, to ensure that both would have the same weapons to play with for the championship title.
Even that did not stop the more disbelieving from trusting Ducati to keep their word, something Martin's title has undoubtedly achieved. Never before has a 'defeat' provoked so much satisfaction.
