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The 2026 Japanese Grand Prix marked a special milestone for Italian engineering mastermind Luigi Dall'Igna. Exactly one year after Marc Márquez clinched the world title aboard his machine, Dall'Igna celebrated his 100th MotoGP victory at Motegi.
All 100 victories have come across just 203 races, starting with Andrea Iannone's breakthrough triumph at the 2016 Austrian Grand Prix. That means Ducati has won nearly every second race over the past decade. The magnitude of this feat is even more staggering considering that before Dall'Igna's arrival in 2013, the Italian outfit had managed just 31 premier-class wins in its entire history.
"I'm proud of the work everyone at Ducati has done over these years. 100 is a wonderful number, but it also means I'm getting older—that's the downside. Our first win with Iannone in Austria remains the most important and holds the fondest memories for me," Dall'Igna said on Sunday.
Ducati's dominance did not stem from a sudden overhaul of the technical regulations. The core MotoGP engine and chassis rules have remained largely stable since 2012. Instead, Dall'Igna's engineering squad methodically addressed and eliminated the weaknesses of the Desmosedici.
After closing the gap to the frontrunners, the Italian manufacturer began rewriting the championship's benchmarks. Ducati pioneered ride-height devices and introduced sophisticated aerodynamics that transformed the face of MotoGP forever. The squad also showed remarkable adaptability to regulatory tweaks along the way—including the transition to Michelin tyres, unified electronics, aerodynamic restrictions, tyre-pressure monitoring, and engine development freezes.
"Over the last ten years, bikes have changed more than across all previous decades combined. It has been a massive evolution that we drove ourselves, and we take immense satisfaction in that," Dall'Igna emphasised.
Under his leadership, Ducati secured the Constructors' Championship in 2020 and has retained the crown ever since. In the riders' standings, Márquez's 2025 title marked the fourth consecutive championship for the Borgo Panigale marque.
Dall'Igna was also the architect behind the GP24, widely hailed as the finest machine in the brand's history. In 2024, Ducati machinery swept 19 of the 20 races (16 for the GP24 and 3 for the previous year's GP23)—one of the most dominant campaigns ever witnessed in Grand Prix racing.
Yet the engineer himself holds the 2015 machine closest to his heart:
"The 2015 bike was the most significant because that was the one where we made the real leap forward. It wasn't easy, and the pressure back then was immense. That's why that machine remains closest to my heart, alongside the GP22, with which we won our first riders' title in 2022."
Regardless of how the current 1000cc era concludes amid growing competition from Aprilia, Dall'Igna's accomplishments have already secured a legendary place in motorsport history.
By comparison, Honda won 68 of 87 races between 1994 and 1999 (a 78.2% win rate), eclipsing Ducati's 49.3% strike rate. However, the Italian manufacturer has sustained its superiority over a far longer span. In modern motorsport, the closest parallel is Mercedes' dominance in Formula 1 (111 wins from 163 races between 2014 and 2021). Both operations managed to transform themselves from midfield runners into benchmark-setting powerhouses.
Ducati wins by season under Dall'Igna
2016: 2 wins
2017: 6 wins
2018: 7 wins
2019: 3 wins
2020: 2 wins
2021: 7 wins
2022: 12 wins
2023: 17 wins
2024: 19 wins
2025: 17 wins
2026: 8 wins (season ongoing)
Ducati winners in the Dall'Igna era
Francesco Bagnaia: 31 wins
Marc Márquez: 20 wins
Andrea Dovizioso: 14 wins
Jorge Martín: 8 wins
Enea Bastianini: 7 wins
Álex Márquez: 4 wins
Jorge Lorenzo: 3 wins
Jack Miller: 3 wins
Marco Bezzecchi: 3 wins
Danilo Petrucci: 2 wins
Fabio Di Giannantonio: 2 wins
Andrea Iannone: 1 win
Johann Zarco: 1 win
Fermín Aldeguer: 1 win
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