Ducati has a full cab in its hand – Dovizioso, Petrucci, Miller, Bagnaia, Zarco – but it only wants a few aces for the 2021 season.
Therefore, when it is time to sit down at the negotiating table, it will have to discard some of them. The question is: who?
In fact, some drivers will not be dropped, they will just be repositioned, but the drivers selected for that role may not necessarily accept the situation.
With Andrea Dovizioso, for example, there is no role change: for Dovi it is either ‘in’ or ‘out’. A decision he actually made back in 2016 when Borgo Panigale proposed a significant reduction in fees for him and Iannone. Andrea did not agree and we know how it all turned out. The Vasto driver, who also won the Red Bull Ring, went to Suzuki. If it were possible to turn back time today, he would reverse his decision.
Dovizioso, like other drivers, is offered a downsized deal: will he accept?
But will Dovizioso agree to a reduction today, after finishing runner-up behind the incomparable Márquez three times, due to the new global economic situation?
There is no doubt that Andrea is at the top of Ducati’s list of preferred riders, but there is also no denying that a bit of rust has appeared between him and Gigi Dall’Igna and that the Venetian designer would like to entrust his competitive Desmosedici to some hungry youngsters. But can someone compete with the driver from Forl?
At the moment the answer is no, although it’s no secret that Dall’Igna has developed a soft spot for the Australian after having won four runners-up from ‘Jackass’ in Austin, Brno, Aragon and Phillip Island. And that despite the victory that Danilo Petrucci gave him in Mugello.
However, The fact is that after a third place in Le Mans and victory on the Tuscan circuit, Petrux’s performance went into a downward spiral, especially from the GP of the Czech Republic; and this has drastically reduced the chances of the Terni rider who will likely be offered a place in the superbike to replace Chaz Davies.
The most likely line-up in the works team therefore seems to be that of Dovizioso and Miller, unless Pecco Bagnaia or Johann Zarco prove in the few races available that they deserve a little more.
For Bagnaia and Zarco, staying in orbit with Ducati is a top priority
For these two riders, staying in orbit around Ducati is a priority: Bagnaia could indeed, as is often the case at Borgo Panigale, be “promoted” to a GP21 factory motorcycle, just like the French. But the problem remains the same: if Dovizioso’s number 1 at Ducati is not up for discussion, will Andrea accept another pay cut to stay with Ducati?
Ducati or KTM-Red Bull for Dovizioso: a question of priority
The Italian is the only one who can answer this question because it is absolutely certain that Dovizioso, who is already in Red Bull orbit, will receive an offer from KTM; The Austrian manufacturer needs an experienced front runner who is also able to drive the development forward.
Given these two options, what will Dovi decide? Difficult to answer. Absurd for both – Andrea and Ducati – best to decide as early as possible to see what will happen in this mini-championship that looks like it will start in Jerez. It could be one last chance for both of them, after which, if the long-awaited victory does not come, What is the point of going on?
Should the long-awaited victory in 2020 not come, what would be the point of continuing?
And there might be a surprise here: If Jack Miller has a 50 percent chance of joining the factory team, the other 50% Andrea Iannone’s ghost emerges quickly. Say what you want about Iannone, but he’s quick.
The Miller-Iannone pairing would certainly break the mold for Ducati’s cannons. Out with reason, in with inspiration, out with calm, in with improvisation and madness.
Miller-Iannone’s crazy idea: a wild and freebooter couple
We’ve already talked about how much the Red Bull Ring winner regrets leaving Ducati. As well as the fact that in the last interviews he declared his loyalty to the manufacturer who protected and spoiled him during the severe disqualification – CAS appeal still pending – Aprilia.
But every possible decision in this sense could turn all expectations upside down …
Lawson, Kocinski and Stoner: Instinctive choices at Ducati have always paid off
At long last, A “crazy” Ducati is what fans have always longed for. And since the Bologna maker like Cagiva won in the good old days when it made instinctive decisions – the arrival of Eddie Lawson 1991, with victory the following year in Hungary and then John Kocinski 1993, ending with Casey Stoner 2007 – why not?
Of course it took a lot of courage. And even programs far more radical than what it appears to be from the other manufacturers, all of whom have biennial contracts. Four years even for Honda.
Improvisation is also required to win, so we expect at least one of the two “red arrows” to get a one-year contract.