After more than two decades in the Italian company’s marketing department, Grassilli was promoted last winter to replace Paolo Ciabatti, one of the most recognisable members within Ducati.
Since then, Grassilli’s activity has not ceased. His first public event took place at the beginning of the year, at the presentation of the team at the Madonna di Campiglio resort.
Then came the pre-season tests, first in Sepang and then in Qatar. In the meantime, his first major operation was the renewal of Bagnaia, a procedure that, contrary to what might have been thought, was not at all easy to close.
“Until now I was used to collecting money from sponsors to invest it in races,” he tells Autosport in an exclusive interview.
“This was the first time I negotiated a contract and it was me who had the wallet, the money. I thought it would be easy, and in reality it was much more difficult than I imagined.
“Thanks to all parties we managed to reach an agreement. Everyone took Pecco’s renewal for granted, but it was nowhere near as easy as people might think.”
Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
For someone who has been nurtured by Ducati since he was a child, occupying the chair he now sits in is a mixture of pride and responsibility that, most likely, leads him to be more alert than to enjoy the moment.
“When I was studying at university, my desire was always to work for this brand, which I was in love with,” he added.
“I had an interview with Livio Suppo, who at the time was the sporting director, and he hired me. I never thought that one day I would be able to occupy that position, or the one later occupied by Alessandro Cicognani and Paolo,” concedes Grassilli, who faces a challenge that is as important, if not more, for the Bolognese manufacturer than Bagnaia’s contract renewal, which is to reduce the amount of the riders’ salary, that in recent times has grown more than owners Audi would like.
“The management of Pramac, which is our first satellite team, is changing. The global economic climate is forcing us to be very careful in the amounts we invest in racing. We are trying to return to more sustainable figures in terms of team management and rider salaries.”
Obviously, to achieve this objective it will be essential that Bagnaia’s future team-mate accepts conditions that are at least significantly lower than those of the current champion, who receives around €7 million, plus an amount that varies depending on results.
The main candidates to get on the factory team Desmosedici are Enea Bastianini, its current owner, Jorge Martin, the 2023 runner-up, and Marc Marquez.
Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
“Jorge has monstrous potential and a contract with Ducati. He can go wherever he wants, but he has always said that his goal is the official garage,” Grassilli adds.
“Marc is very well liked by the brand, he has won so much and has a great charisma. For all these reasons he has to be taken into consideration. And in Enea’s case, injuries prevented him from showing his potential last year.
“Our priority was to renew Pecco, for this second bike we are in no hurry.”
Another priority for Grassilli will be sorting out Ducati’s future with VR46, whose contract expires at the end of the season and has been repeatedly linked to a Yamaha switch in 2025.
“We are talking with VR46 and we would like to continue with them,” he says.
“But it’s not easy either because that agreement also has to fit into this new economic framework. We know they are talking to other constructors, as is normal, but we are in less of a hurry.”
