After the announcement that Ducati was pulling out of the world superbike competition, the company either underestimated the PR-fallout that would take place or overestimated just how badly Italy wanted Valentino Rossi in Ducati.
Because since the announcement, the company has had to clarify its decision somewhat, with statements from Ducati President Gabriele del Torchio.
He says that the signing of Valentino Rossi to the Ducati MotoGP team has nothing to do with the decision and that it’s a simple restructure of company costs.
The statements came during the announcement that Ducati has resigned Nicky Hayden.
Del Torchio says:“Firstly, I’d like to say that Ducati is not leaving SBK.
We will continue to race as a satellite team, just like the Japanese do.
The world changes and we need to streamline our resources.
Basically, the engineers that are currently in SBK will move to developing new production models and improving quality.
There will be private teams on the track – that seems logical to me.
We are definitely not abandoning the SBK because its in our company DNA.
” Despite saying that Valentino Rossi’s move to Ducati in the MotoGP has got nothing to do with the Superbike pull-out, Del Torchio’s words demonstrate that the MotoGP and subsequent product development is where its investment is going:“The MotoGP is a training ground for technology and experimentation that then gets transferred to production, as in the case of traction control.
Superbike needs to return to its roots – there’s no need for official teams and we’ve demonstrated that winning with private teams with Corser and Polen.
So we’re going to pass on our efforts to private teams.
Ours is a couragious choice which will contribute to rediscovering the real character of the two world championships.
”
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