Ducati “not worried” about its MotoGP secrets going to KTM
Ducati sporting director Paolo Ciabatti says the marque is “not worried” about any of its MotoGP bike secrets going to KTM with Jack Miller.
Four-time MotoGP race winner Miller switches to the factory KTM squad for the 2023 season following five years with Ducati, first at Pramac before stepping up to the works team in 2021.
Miller has been an instrumental part in Ducati’s bike development, and marks one of several major pieces of personnel poaching of the Italian marque’s talent KTM has done over the last year – including Fabiano Sterlacchini, who previously spent 17 years with Ducati, as technical director.
Ducati had offered Miller a one-year deal to return to Pramac for 2023 when it elected to sign Enea Bastianini to its factory team, but understands his decision to join KTM.
Even after Miller had signed for KTM, he was still allowed by Ducati – who won both the manufacturers’ and riders’ championships in 2022 - to test new parts.
Jack Miller, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
Photo by: KTM Images
Asked by Autosport if the knowledge seeping out of Ducati to a rival marque was concerning, Ciabatti said: “We’re not worried. It’s something we can’t stop and it happens.
“In the case of Jack, we had different plans for him, which was to offer him a factory bike at Pramac but only on a one-year contract.
“And understandably he got an opportunity to be a factory rider for two years on a KTM, and probably also with a slightly better salary.
“So, it’s perfectly understandable. And also, on the technicians, I think Ducati is proud to have developed very skilled engineers and obviously we are very sorry when they decide to leave Ducati.
“But sometimes after many years in the same position, some people want to see if there is an opportunity in a different role within the team and sometimes it’s not possible for Ducati.
“So, obviously they will take with them a lot of knowledge. But that’s it.”
Miller last rode for KTM in 2014 when he was runner-up in the Moto3 world championship before he was promoted directly to MotoGP with Honda at the LCR team.
During his Valencia swansong with Ducati in November, Miller said his time with the marque had been a “game changer” for his career.
On his first test of the RC16 at the post-race Valencia test, Miller was 17th overall and 0.755 seconds off the pace.
Binder: “Just a matter of time” before “frustrated” KTM breaks through in MotoGP
Crutchlow didn’t expect Yamaha MotoGP test role “to be as difficult as what it is”
Foyt changes IndyCar number amid "symbolic references" debacle
AJ Foyt Racing has changed the number of Benjamin Pedersen's 2023 IndyCar entry from #88 to #55, after finding its two cars' numbers held "certain ideological and symbolic references".
Taylor: Reset button will be "worn out" but better than limp mode in Daytona 24
Ricky Taylor has zero worries over the pace of the new Acura ARX-06, but believes the new GTP cars will encounter several sensor issues over the course of the Daytona 24 Hours.
WEC assessing Sebring alternative for US round from 2024
The World Endurance Championship has admitted that it is examining alternatives to Sebring for the US round of the series from 2024.
Wehrlein hails "perfect" Porsche strategy, efficiency en route to Diriyah FE win
Pascal Wehrlein reckoned that Porsche's Diriyah E-Prix strategy and efficiency worked "perfectly" en route to claiming his second Formula E victory.
The other Suzuki signing that could transform Honda's MotoGP form
Following Suzuki's decision to quit MotoGP, both of its former riders have landed at Honda for 2023. But perhaps its biggest signing from the now-defunct team could instead be a highly-rated technical manager. Is Ken Kawauchi the right man at the right time to steer HRC back to glory?
How the MotoGP paddock has offered refuge to Suzuki's former team
Suzuki's unexpected departure left more than 40 professionals virtually jobless for the 2023 MotoGP season. But that human drama has been successfully corrected by the paddock itself, with most former Suzuki crew-members absorbed into other operations
How one MotoGP team went from title fights to losing it all in four years
The Petronas Sepang Racing Team came into MotoGP with a bang in 2019 as regular front-runners, with wonder rookie Fabio Quartararo mounting a title challenge in 2020. But it all went wrong for the Razlan Razali-helmed squad as the team changed hands and tumbled down the order - and RNF Racing plans to right this in 2023
Is MotoGP's comeback king ready to reclaim his throne?
Marc Marquez’s sixth premier MotoGP title seems a long time ago given the injury woes he has faced in the three years since. At the end of a fraught 2022, in which he had a fourth major operation on his right arm, the Spaniard speaks exclusively to Autosport
How MotoGP’s underachiever is working to reverse its fortunes in 2023
As European manufacturers emerged as the strongest force in 2022 in a changing of the guard for MotoGP, one powerhouse couldn’t quite match the feats of Ducati and Aprilia. Its motorsport chief tells Autosport why this is and what it is doing to become a consistent frontrunner in the class of kings
How MotoGP riders are preparing for the physical stress of sprint races
With the expansion of the calendar to 21 grands prix and the introduction of sprint races, the 2023 MotoGP season will take the riders to almost 1,300 kilometres of competition more than this year, a factor that forces adjustments in their physical preparations.
The Ducati rider who is much more than just the brother of a MotoGP legend
Surname pressure is something many have had to deal with in their motorsport careers. And while Luca Marini doesn’t have that, his familial relation and the team he rides for in MotoGP have cast a brighter spotlight on his progress. But, as he has shown in 2022 – and as he reveals to Autosport – Marini is so much more than just the brother of a legend
Ranking the top 10 riders of MotoGP 2022
The 2022 MotoGP season was another hotly contested championship, with Francesco Bagnaia emerging as the title winner after the campaign went to the wire. Autosport picks out the 10 best performers of the season
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.