MotoGP: Petrucci completes factory Ducati line-up

Danilo Petrucci has been confirmed, as expected, to complete the factory Ducati line-up for 2019 and 2020, joining fellow Italian Andrea Dovizioso after a successful two-year apprenticeship on the satellite Pramac Ducati.

Initially up for contention between him and teammate Jack Miller, the Australian made it clear at the Italian Grand Prix that he was happy to remain with the satellite team, inheriting Petrucci’s factory-supported deal that sees him lining up on the same machinery as the factory bikes.

And it comes as fair reward to Petrucci, who has taken a string of wet and dry podium finishes on the Pramac machine over the last three seasons.

“It goes without saying that for me, being part of the factory team is a dream come true. It’s a great honour 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.”