Ducati confirm Alstare WSB partnership for 2013 and 2014

Ducati’s official World Superbike effort will be run by the Belgian Alstare squad in a new two man team called Team Ducati Alstare.

The two year deal will see riders Carlos Checa and Ayrton Badovini campaign the all new Ducati 1199 Panigale.

Alstare wre the long tie factory Suzuki team competing in WSB until they left the championship for financial reasons at the end of 2011. Alstare will take over from the Althea squad who have run Ducat’s WSB tean for the last two years – winning the title in 2011 with Checa.

The new team will be a combination of Alstare’s impressive infrastructure and organisation along with factory support and engineers from Ducati Corse.

Checa and Badovini will get their first test with the new team at Aragon next week before moving on to Jerez at the end of November before the winter testing ban comes into place.

Team owner Francis Batta said: “For me, it’s an absolute thrill to be able to join the Ducati family again. Together, we were so successful in the past and Ducati remains a reference brand for me today. We are going to face a challenge which is highly stimulating both for me and for my team and we will apply our absolute best efforts to making sure this is a successful endeavour.”

Ducati‘s Superbike Project Manager, Ernesto Marinelli added: “At Ducati, we are very happy and confident with this agreement. The professionalism, passion and sporting character of Francis Batta and all his staff, together with his structure, which sets an industry standard in terms of equipment and organisation, are vital elements for our future plans. We have a lot of work to do, and I am sure that we are able to do it in the best possible way.”