Valentino Rossi, the great Italian motorcycle rider, confirmed about the recent rumors that he will be joining Ducati in 2011.Rossi is the reigning MotoGP champion. But he has been facing strong competition from within his Yamaha team. Jorge Lorenzo, a young Spaniard, is leading the series and appears to be the face of the Yamaha’s future. For the last couple of the years, the team has been unable to conceal the two riders’ dislike of each other.
Rumors about a Rossi move to Ducati have swirled around the MotoGP paddock for the months. But they grew stronger when Ducati rider Casey Stoner announced in July a move from the Italian outfit to the Repsol Honda team. It was all but certain that an announcement from the Rossi about a jump to Ducati would come soon after. The terms of the deal were not revealed, though it is believed to be around $19 million a year.
“Working with Valentino is one of the most exciting things for every engineer, and it’s good to know we will have this great opportunity for the next season,” said Filippo Preziosi, manager of the Ducati Racing.
The last time Rossi switched teams was in 2004, when he moved from the Repsol Honda, then the best team on the grid, to Yamaha, a middling team. Rossi immediately won the championship in 2004 and brought Yamaha back to the prominence, winning four titles with the team.
“Many things have changed since that far-off time in 2004,” said Rossi in a statement describing the improvement in his Yamaha motorcycle, “but especially ’she,’ my M1, has changed. At that time, she was a poor middle-grid position MotoGP bike, derided by most of the riders and the MotoGP workers. Now, after having helped her to grow and improve, you can see her smiling in her garage, courted and admired, treated as the ‘top of the class.’”
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