After calm returned to the MotoGP paddock, Ducati Corse manager Mauro Grassilli reported on the arrival of Marc Marquez – but also on the difficult time of separation from Enea Bastianini.
For the sporting director of the Ducati MotoGP department, the 2024 season was memorable in every respect. Starting with the fact that Mauro Grassilli only arrived in the paddock at the beginning of the latest campaign. Grassilli has been working at Ducati Corse for 20 years, but only took over the role of “Sporting Director” from veteran Paolo Ciabatti a year ago.
It’s hard to imagine a hotter entry. Grassilli’s preparation phase was already accompanied by intense negotiations with pilots and teams for the 2025 campaign. Along with establishing connections with Pramac, VR46 and Gresini, the hottest seat in the entire paddock – the seat next to Pecco Bagnaia – was at the airport . pre-conversation list.
In a live chat with SPEEDWEEK.com, the general manager said, looking back on the MotoGP season: “It was an absolutely amazing year in every respect, not only for me personally, but also for our team and. the whole project. It was emotional too many.”
Mauro Grassilli confirms that it was not always easy. “The situation around Mugello was very exciting and at the same time very difficult. After the decision of the second place in the factory team, it was my job to talk to Enea. It is part of my role – but we are also dealing with people with whom we have more in common than just business. Telling him that he won’t be driving with us was very difficult.”
The pilot’s reaction did not make the situation any easier. Grassilli: «Enea was very surprised, he could not understand at first. I think he still had the image that he would continue to ride for Ducati Corse.”
The reaction of the #23 on the racetrack will also be unforgettable. In the last corner, the last lap of the Italian doctor, Bastianini crushed Jorge Martin in second place.
The manager from Bologna describes his first professional meeting with Marc Marquez as exciting: “Contact with him was not new, we knew each other. But when he was in our pits and he had not yet driven – it was very exciting. Our process helped a lot, the experience of Davide, Gigi and of course Marc himself, who was very confident.”
A big relief for everyone after the first laps of the six-time MotoGP king. Grassilli repeats the first sentence of the high-profile visitor: “It feels really good to ride a motorcycle like this.”
According to Grassilli, there is no potential tension that the Spaniard’s move to the factory team could cause at the end of the race: “The first day of work together was very harmonious. Marc and Pecco exchanged ideas and very quickly agreed on the same basic feeling. They have found a balance, which will make the work of motorcycles easier for 2025, and on a human level there is great respect.
Despite the first line # 93 in the pits of the work unit from Bologna, due to the true ambitions of all drivers to fight for the world title in 2025, a change of mood on all sides of the garage is inevitable.
It is certain that even if Mauro Grassilli does not have to retire in 2025 due to the current state of the contract, the next season of MotoGP will not be very high or necessary.
