The Ducati of yesteryear is not the Ducati of today

In the 2021 MotoGP title, one of the Italian manufacturers, Ducati, is arguably successful and still has a chance to become the manufacturer's champion. Judging from the performance of their three riders, Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing), Francesco Bagnaia, and Jack Miller (both from Ducati Lenovo), who still have a chance to become world champions, the ranks of the Ducati team must be proud.

Although it used to dominate in MotoGP 2007 thanks to the power of Casey Stoner, Ducati has entered a title drought until now. In fact, in 2011-2012, a Valentino Rossi who was expected to be able to improve Ducati's achievements gave up and was only able to last two seasons riding Desmosedici, the mainstay of the Ducati manufacturer in MotoGP.

During his two seasons at Ducati, Rossi's performances were poor. He kept complaining that his Desmosedici wouldn't turn, was difficult to ride, and he didn't have the confidence to push it.
Recently, a decade on, someone has backed up Rossi's argument. Michelle Piro, a test rider for the Ducati team, admitted that Rossi's complaints about the Desmosedici's "savagery" were true.

Pirro said fortunately things are different now. Riders like Jack Miller and Francesco Bagnaia don't have to feel the same problem. "Those who now come to Ducati have really discovered another world, but I assure you that in the past it was difficult," said the racer from San Giovanni Rotondo.

The Ducati bike of Rossi's time and the current one have changed a lot. This can't be separated from the role of the Ducati crew and engineers who continue to develop the bike in a creative way. "There is a big group, all Italians, who work as a team and with passion. Dall'Igna, Ciabatti and Tardozzi are the right people and we always try to do the best with the resources we have," he said.

If you think about it, Rossi's grim fate might be the benchmark for the development of the current Desmosedici. At the moment, the Desmosedici seems to be very dominant. Let's just wait for the progress of the Ducati riders, hopefully they will be able to break the dominance of Japanese manufacturers-Honda, Yamaha, and most recently Suzuki last year-who have continuously won since 2008 until last year.