Danilo Petrucci Signs Two-Year Deal With Ducati Team
Danilo Petrucci has signed a two-year deal with the Ducati Team, beginning with the 2019 MotoGP season.
With Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo departing for Repsol Team Honda, Ducati Team will be an all-Italian affair for the first time since Andrea Dovizioso and Andrea Iannone were teammates in 2016.
Iannone had been touted as a possible replacement for Lorenzo, but the seat has gone to the popular Petrucci.
Danilo Petrucci says: “It goes without saying that for me, being part of the factory team is a dream come true. It’s a great honor to become an official rider for the Ducati Team, especially for someone like me who started in Ducati as a production motorcycle test rider.
“First of all, I would like to thank Paolo Campinoti and Francesco Guidotti, who gave me the chance four years ago to race on a Ducati for the Pramac Racing Team. Without them all this would not have been possible.
“I also want to thank the managers of Ducati and Ducati Corse—Claudio Domenicali, Gigi Dall’Igna and Paolo Ciabatti—who appreciated me first as a person and then as a rider, and I really can’t wait to start this new adventure in the factory team. Now all I want to do is to finish the year in the top five in the standings and then start the new season with the Ducati Team.”
Ducati Motor Holding CEO Claudio Domenicali says: “First of all I’d like to thank Jorge Lorenzo for all the efforts and commitment that he has made during his time as a Ducati rider, and in particular for his outstanding victory last Sunday at Mugello, which will go down in history as one of our company’s legendary racing achievements.
“Jorge is a great champion, capable of incredible feats, and even though it is sad that he took such a long time to find the right feeling with our bike, we will continue to do everything possible to put him in a position to achieve further victories in the remaining rounds of the season and fight for the world title together with his teammate Andrea Dovizioso.
“I wish to give a warm welcome to Danilo, whom we look forward to seeing in Ducati Team colors next year, together with Andrea, and who we feel sure will continue his rapid rise to success.”
Petrucci is without a win in his MotoGP career, which dates back to 2012 when he rode for the Ioda-Suter team. Petrucci scored his first podium in 2015, while aboard a Ducati, and all of his six career podiums are onboard a Ducati. Petrucci has 106 MotoGP starts under his belt, and has never competed in the middleweight or lightweight GP classes.
Petrucci’s best season finish is eight place overall in the 2017 MotoGP World Championship. Petrucci had four podiums, including two runner-up finishes.
After six MotoGP races this year, Petrucci has 63 points and sits in sixth place in the standings. Petrucci has a second place finish at this year’s HJC Helmets Grand Prix de France at Le Mans.
Photo by Milagro