Ducati made an emphatic statement by locking out the front row after qualifying and the entire podium after the race in Valencia. In fact, half of the bikes in the top 10 were Ducatis. The Italian team will have a stronger presence in 2022 with 8 bikes on the grid and the non-Ducati riders have reacted to the performance advantage currently possessed by their Ducati counterparts
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0:00 - Why Riders Are Worried Of Ducati’s Dominance Prior To 2022
2:21 - Fast Feed
All eyes will be on Monster Energy Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo next year as he will look to defend his maiden championship in MotoGP.
Fabio started off by expressing his concern over Ducati being so strong in a track they have struggled at historically
“Everyone said this track was not a Ducati track, but they did 1-2-3 in qualifying and the race. They made a massive step, so I’m more worried about next year, but this [isn’t] something I have too much on my mind right now”
He, however, has chosen to live in the moment for now
“I need to leave it to Yamaha. They know what they have to do to improve for next year. Of course we are not in full confidence because they make a step, but we are the world champions of this year. So we need to enjoy it”
Suzuki’s Joan Mir had a disappointing season as he could not defend his title and he too pointed out that the Ducati bikes will be a massive threat next year
“I didn’t see any loss of performance in the last laps, for me it’s the opposite. They are even stronger on the end of the race. So it’s not easy to understand”
“I don’t see any weak points, and this is something that I’m worried about. And they are able to be fast with a lot of different styles. So we have work to do if we want to fight again next year, because for sure they will be really strong”
KTM’s Miguel Oliveira, who had a standout season last year, had a dismal season this year to end up 14th in the championship.
He summed up Ducati’s dominance
“On tracks where you might think they wouldn’t perform very well, like here in Valencia, they are very fast and the feeling is as if they have new tyres and we [run] used tyres”
“They manage to be much more efficient in the acceleration and braking phase, and also in corners they are spectacular now. It’s almost tricky to fight them. We are talking about six bikes fighting for the top ten and that leaves very little room for the others. It’s tough competition”
Fast Feed
Monster Energy Yamaha’s Franco Morbidelli has explained that “it was great to have the luck to race behind [Valentino Rossi in his final race]”
“At one point, I found myself right behind him, and I said OK, ‘let’s try to push and let’s try to maybe overtake him’ or maybe do something. But he was so fast and so unattackable that I needed to stay the whole race behind him”, he added
“I was thinking that I was very, very lucky to have the chance to enjoy his last laps in MotoGP right from a really special position”, he summed up
Retired MotoGP rider Danilo Petrucci has stated that “it was really, really nice. When [he] parked the bike on the grid [he] said to [himself], ‘now please don’t cry’”
“I was really happy to see all this love. In Mugello, the first time on the podium, I cried. I cried again when I was first. Unfortunately, when I’m happy I cannot help it!”
“I said, ‘don’t think about it. I have a KTM MotoGP bike all for me and a track. I want to enjoy these last kilometres on this bike’. It was a great pleasure to see all the people. I’m really happy”, he concluded
Ducati’s Jack Miller is “proud to be part of this history-making podium. Three Ducati’s in the top three is just fantastic, it’s fantastic for them, fantastic for the team, fantastic for the engineers because they have worked so hard”
“I know when I joined MotoGP in 2015, if you asked whether you’d like to hop on a Ducati you would say ‘not really’, but now, everybody wants to be on a Ducati”
“It’s great to be involved in this part of the development of these last couple of years”, he further added
Suzuki’s Project Leader, Shinichi Sahara has pointed out that “last year [they] achieved the riders’ title, and also the teams’ title, and compared to this year it has been a very tough season, very difficult for [them]” [Motorsport Sports]
“Before the start of this year’s championship, we decided not to defend the title, but to challenge again to reach the top positions in each race”, he expanded
“As a result we had difficult moments in the middle of the season and even in the first half of the championship with the height device of our bike, which other manufacturers already had”
“Fortunately we have two strong riders, Joan [Mir] is very consistent and has speed. We just need something else to get more speed and better results”, he wrapped up
Will the rest of the field be able to catch up to Ducati next season?
