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The man behind Ducati's modern-day MotoGP dominance Gigi Dall’Igna has revealed that he had rejected a proposal by Honda to join the Japanese squad.
Gigi Dall’Igna has been responsible for building the Italian team into this giant on two wheels. He has been part of the team for a long time and is often considered the man responsible for the success the team has achieved.
In 2022, the team won its first Riders' Championship with Francesco Bagnaia since Casey Stoner achieved it in 2007. The team has grown from strength to strength under Dall’Igna.
So much so that Ducati now has three satellite teams on the grid to supplement its factory team. Through all of this, it has surpassed Honda as the benchmark in MotoGP.
Honda last won a world title with Marc Marquez in 2019. His injury in early 2020 derailed the team completely, as Ducati could spearhead the aerodynamic innovation in the sport.
With the Japanese brand struggling while the Italian brand continues to prosper, Gigi Dall’Igna has revealed that he was approached by Honda but chose not to make the move.
As quoted by Crash.Net, he said:
"I feel good at Ducati. I worked so hard to get to a situation where Ducati is considered a model, leaving now wouldn't have been logical. Then, it's true that I did what I had to do here. It could have been a challenge won and archived. And Honda is an equally interesting and important challenge."
Honda bids farewell to Marc Marquez amid premature contract termination
Things haven't been going well for the Japanese brand, as the squad bid goodbye to Marc Marquez when his contract was terminated prematurely. Marquez had an extra year on his contract, but a mutual agreement decided that the partnership would end in 2023.
The official press release stated:
"Honda Racing Corporation and Marc Marquez have mutually elected to terminate their four-year contract prematurely at the end of the 2023 MotoGP World Championship season."
"With a year still remaining on the four-year contract between HRC and Marc Marquez, both parties have mutually agreed to end their collaboration upon completion of the 2023 MotoGP World Championship season," it read further.
The team already has 2020 MotoGP champion Joan Mir with Johan Zarco signed for LCR. The team is looking at contenders to replace Marquez, but no name has been finalised yet.
