Pecco Bagnaia is to move up to MotoGP with the Pramac Ducati team in 2019 and 2020. The news was announced on Twitter by the SkyVR46 team, and confirmed by Bagnaia himself on his Twitter feed.
The move is not a surprise. Bagnaia had been widely tipped to move to MotoGP with Ducati, with Paolo Ciabatti admitting at the launch back in January that the Italian factory had an interest in the 21 year old.
Bagnaia’s contract is official confirmation that Danilo Petrucci will be leaving the Pramac team at the end of this season. Petrucci’s current contract with Ducati contains a clause granting him a seat in the factory Ducati team, if a seat is open.
As yet, there are no open seats in the factory team, with Ducati expected to sign both Andrea Dovizioso and Jorge Lorenzo to new contracts.
The signing of Bagnaia is the second contract to be finalized in the 2018 MotoGP Silly Season, after Maverick Viñales signed on with Yamaha for two years, and testing is not even complete yet. More is likely to come, and sooner rather than later.
“What do you want to be when you grow up?"
"I want to drive a Ducati in MotoGP.”Today I grew up and from 2019 I will ride a Ducati in MotoGP; Thank to @DucatiMotor , @pramacracing , @SkyRacingTeam , @VRRidersAcademy pic.twitter.com/6bYmAa2pmn
— Francesco Bagnaia (@PeccoBagnaia) February 21, 2018
Photo: Pramac Ducati
This article was originally published on MotoMatters, and is republished here on Asphalt & Rubber with permission by the author.
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