UPDATED: Ducati CEO Confirms Valentino Rossi at Ducati Next Year
Wednesday, August 4th, 2010UPDATE: No surpises here really, but Ducati have very quickly released the following statement:
Regarding the recent allegations attributed to Gabriele Del Torchio - Ducati CEO and President, Ducati states that no agreement has been reached with the riders Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden for the future Moto GP season, although our interest in these riders remains.
We would like to say that the recent news which has appeared on the US website Cycle World and other websites has been misreported and must be attributed to the many rumors circulating lately.
Whether and when an agreement is reached, official press releases will be issued.
We have to say we’re not entirely suprised that they’ve said this. No doubt a “it was out of context” statement will be released shortly.
Original: In an interview with Cycle World Ducati CEO Gabriele Del Torchio has really let the cat out of the bag on the worst kept secret in motorcycle racing, that Valentino Rossi will indeed partner with Nicky Hayden next year for Ducati.
“Nicky is a wonderful person and a great rider. This year, he greatly contributed to improving our Desmosedici racer. Next year, he and Valentino will hone the bike to its ultimate winning potential. We knew that we were going to face a tough year in World Superbike. The new rules don’t help; someone was allowed to bend them, and our 1198 has reached its ultimate potential. In two years, we shall be ready with our new 1200cc Twin.”
Source: Cycle World
