Ducati’s factory MotoGP operation became the second team to unveil its 2024 design in an event in Bologna, with reigning world champion Francesco Bagnaia and Enea Bastianini on hand.
The Italian marque kick-started its 2024 campaign by showing off a strikingly similar paint scheme to the one it ran en route to the manufacturer’s and riders’ titles last season. Ducati’s paint scheme reveal comes two days after its customer outfit Gresini displayed its 2024 war colors.
Ducati’s classic racing red remains the base color for its Desmosedici machine, though a small design featuring a brighter red shade is now visible along the flanks and front of the bike. Both riders are also running different colored numbers compared to the last.
Bagnaia will continue with the #1 plate on his challenger, though it now stands out from the red by being colored black. Bastianini will continue with his long-standing #23, though it is now colored white rather than the red it was throughout 2023.
The squad will be looking to somehow top its amazing ’23 run, which saw Bagnaia capture a total of six grand prix wins and four sprint successes en route to a second successive riders title. The Italian ended up coming out on top of a season-long tussle for the title against Pramac Ducati’s Jorge Martin. His impressively consistent campaign saw him fail to finish off the rostrum in every grand prix he finished.
Bastianini meanwhile will be looking for a more complete campaign after his ’23 was marred with various injuries, while he struggled to find a good feeling with the Desmosedici in the events he did contest. A step in the latter part of the year though, which culminated in him scoring a first win in factory Ducati colours in Malaysia, should give him a decent springboard for an improved ’24 showing.
