Lorenzo's arrival a sign of Ducati mindset change
Ducati MotoGP boss Gigi Dall'Igna says the arrival of three-time premier class champion Jorge Lorenzo shows how the Italian team has changed its mindset.
Jorge Lorenzo, Ducati Team
Ducati Corse
Lorenzo, who has two 250cc titles in addition to his three MotoGP crowns with Yamaha, put pen to paper on a Ducati contract early last year - and will partner Andrea Dovizioso in 2017 and 2018.
"Lorenzo is a five-time world champion, we have won two championships together," said Dall'Igna, who worked with the Spaniard at Aprilia during his 250cc title campaigns.
"This is great, this gives us so much more energy, trust and an incredible esteem and respect.
"I have to say the following, we do not have any longer the structure we had before. The only thing we have to do is win the championship. There’s no excuses, no alibis. We don’t like excuses, [which is] one of the key reasons we decided to hire Lorenzo.
"I believe a team that wants to win needs to remove every single excuse to lose. We have changed our mindset, have the right mindset, encouraging us to try to do what people want us to do, which is winning the world championship.
"It won’t be easy, I know our competitors are so strong in terms of the bikes, they have very specific, top-quality features in their teams, but we are here to try."
Dall'Igna also reckoned that the team having had the new GP17 bike ready for the post-season Valencia test was a clear indicator of the progress made.
"2016 concluded in a very positive way," he added. "It was a year where we strengthened and optimised our technical and engineering growth, we managed to win two races, we fought to get to the podium every single time.
"We have some gaps to be bridged, this is where we have focused all of our energy, attention with developments this winter.
"Our organisation is now better, we have improved it. For the first time in my management of Ducati Corse, we managed to have a new bike up and running in Valencia, after the race.
"We just wanted to make sure the new bike didn’t have any problems, any issues, that would be impossible to get rid of during the season."
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