Ducati tell Marquez: “We hope for races without accidents, I don’t like contact”
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The eight-time world champion’s arrival at Ducati from Honda is sure to cause a stir within the Italian manufacturer, not least because he has already clashed with several of their top riders.Marquez clattered Jorge Martin at the first round in Portimao last year, before they made contact again in the season-finale in Valencia.Marco Bezzecchi was also left fuming by a which he believed Marquez caused in Valencia.And Marquez also drew Johann Zarco’s ire for a scary incident at the Sachsenring.Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali was asked by Marca if Marquez will “upset everyone”, and he replied: “It is certain that Marc will annoy everyone, also within Ducati, it is certain that he will. Like Jorge. “For Pecco or Enea, they will not only have Jorge or Bezzecchi, or Di Giannantonio, who is now going very strong. Also they will have Marc. “With one more to beat, it will create more confusion. It will be more difficult to beat him, but also more interesting for all the fans. “All the fans want to see Marc on a Ducati, but for us it will be complicated. “We have to see everything: it will be complicated, it will create confusion. “What we hope is that they will be sports races without accidents. I don’t really like contact, because it is dangerous. Related Marini: Honda is ‘ideal for me, it’s like playing for Real Madrid or Barcelona’ Gresini: ‘Crucial’ to be at the maximum from first race“From time to time Marc is a little bit like that. Jorge is too. “It was a little bit [like this] in the last race. Marc had a very bad accident. And it was Jorge who threw him in that accident. It was dangerous. “In races there is a limit and we have to be attentive to the limit.
“It is important that the Race Direction keep the riders calm, that when someone exceeds the limit, they will be sanctioned immediately. “That is very important for the safety of the sport, because we are a very important sport that wants to grow, with many spectators. “The champions, on the track, must be an example of how it is achieved: hard, but honest, clean.”Marquez signed a one-year deal with Gresini Racing, who select their riders independently from Ducati.He arrives despite prior remarks from Gigi Dall’Igna which suggested Ducati did not need him – although Marquez has denied feeling unwelcome.Domenicali said: “Marc will be an ally because we will have the great advantage of seeing how he rides the bike. “I think that both Pecco, Jorge and Marco will be able to improve by seeing how Marc rides.“Because we have the philosophy that they share all the data. So he will surely go very strong. “If I see the difference that he makes compared to the other Honda riders, I think he will go very strong next year, so he will be a candidate for victory, for the title, for sure.”
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