2014 Ducati World Superbike News
Over the past week, Ducati Corse announced some significant changes. First was the retirement of its star World Superbike rider, the Carlos Checa. The 2011 World SBK Champion of Spain called it quits at 41-years old.
Once this news settled, Ducati also announced it had parted ways with Team Alstare, the two organizations terminating their contract early due to “global economic downturn.”
But the news out of Bologna Monday was much more positive when Ducati announced its riders for 2014 World Superbike. Welsh rider Chaz Davies and the Italian Davide Giugliano will pilot the 1199 Panigale superbikes.
Ducati says “this is an important decision for Ducati, determined to bounce back after a year of disappointing results for the 1199 Panigale, which failed to deliver the results expected in World Superbike despite its considerable success in many national championships and the highly-competitive FIM Superstock Cup.”
Davies, 27, has vast experience in AMA, the former 125cc and 250cc classes of MotoGp, World Supersport, World Superbike, and even the premier-MotoGP class after an appearance on a Ducati GP7 in 2007.
Davies, the 2011 World Supersport Champion, has raced Aprilia, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Ducati, Triumph and BMW machinery.
He joined World Superbike in 2012, compeiting aboard the ParkinGO MTC Racing Aprilia RSV4. That year, he took his first win at Sachsenring, Germany. In 2013 World Superbike, Davies competed on the BMW Motorrad GoldBet S1000RR, winning three races and finishing fifth overall behind the 2013 World Superbike Champion, Kawasaki Racing’s Tom Sykes.
As for the 23-year-old Giugliano, he joined the European Superstock 600 Championship in 2005, and finished third in that series in 2006. He joined World Supersport in 2007, but didn’t have much luck on the Kawasaki ZX-6R, eventually finishing 27th.
Giugliano joined the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup in 2008, taking the title in 2011. In 2012, he raced with Checa aboard the Althea Ducati 1198. In 2013, Althea and Ducati parted ways, and Giugliano competed on the Althea Aprilia RSV4, taking one superpole, and two podiums, and finishing sixth overall.
Davies and Giugliano, who have signed with Ducati for the 2014-2015 WSBK seasons, will began pre-season testing Oct. 30-31 at Jerez, the first of three sessions ahead of the winter testing ban that runs Dec. 1 through Jan. 15.
Ducati reports it will announce sponsorship and management in the coming weeks.
