UPDATE: Ducati has denied del Torchio’s statements in Cycle World’s article.
It’s not like we didn’t already know that Rossi had signed with Ducati, but Ducati Motor Holdings CEO Gabriele del Torchio let it slip during an interview with Cycle World magazine that both Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi would be riding with Ducati for 2011. This makes the first person at Ducati to go on the record about next year’s MotoGP rider line-up at the Italian company, which should send Ducatisti into a fervor, and drool marinara sauce.
Del Torchio’s exact words to Cycle World were: “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.” Del Torchio goes on to tell Cycle World about the upcoming “Vyper/Mega Monster” bike that will debut at Milan, if you like your desmo’s go on over to Cycleworld.com and read the full article.
According to our sources, Valention Rossi signed with Ducati a month ago, during the Catalan GP. It was rumored that Rossi was set to announce his move to Ducati while in Barcelona, which fit with the information we received, but later when that announcement didn’t come, news of a gentlemen’s agreement between Yamaha and Ducati came to the surface. With Rossi himself saying he would make an announcement at Brno, everyone is waiting to see what happens after the Czech GP on August 15th…that is of course until today with del Torchio’s confirmation.
While many knew about the Stoner/Honda switch, we think with all the leaks this story has sprung, Rossi moving to Ducati is officially the worst kept secret in the MotoGP paddock.
Source: Cycle World via Ducati News Today
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