Excitement is building for the reigning BSB champion to start racing as the 2020 Ducati WSB team is officially unveiled at the Imola circuit in Italy. Especially as it also meant the first official launch of the Aruba.it Racing Ducati Panigale R machines that the pair will ride this season.
Scott Redding and team-mate Chaz Davies were in attendance along with President of the Circuit Uberto Selvatico Estense, Stefano Cecconi (CEO Aruba S.p.A. and Team Principal Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), Claudio Domenicali (CEO Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A.), Luigi Dall’Igna (General Manager Ducati Corse), Paolo Ciabatti (Sporting Director Ducati Corse), Serafino Foti (Team Manager Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), Marco Zambenedetti (SBK Technical Coordinator Ducati Corse) and Daniele Casolari (Team Owner Feel Racing). So it was a pretty big deal with the Imola race tower in Aruba.it branding, and a crowd of guests and media in attendance.
It should be a pretty experienced team as even the sponsors have been involved for the last 6 years. Chaz Davies has been in World Superbikes since 2012, and joined the Ducati team in 2015. Since then, he’s finished in the top three of the championship each year, with 30 race wins and 76 podiums in his career.
Meanwhile Scott Redding comes to the WSB paddock after a dominant season in British Superbikes, where he rode a Ducati Panigale V4 for the Paul Bird team. His debut season resulted in the championship title, 11 wins, 20 podiums, 8 pole positions and 6 fastest laps. The former MotoGP rider and Moto2 runner-up could also be well in title contention this year.
Stefano Cecconi, CEO of Aruba S.p.A. and Team Principal.
“It is a source of great pride for us to be here today, at the Enzo and Dino Ferrari Circuit in Imola, and to be able to admire its tower – witness to epic challenges on two and four wheels – dressed in our colors. This will make the Italian round of the SBK championship even more special for all of us and truly a “home race”. For the sixth consecutive year we are together with Ducati to launch our team and renew our commitment to give great satisfaction to all Ducatisti. The results obtained in the past season have shown that the cards in our hands are fully in order to be title contenders and this, of course, remains our only goal. The extraordinary performance of the Panigale V4 R, the great experience of Chaz Davies, the enthusiasm of Scott Redding combined with the dedication, commitment and passion of the entire team, will be the essential ingredients to create a winning mix”.
Claudio Domenicali, CEO of Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A.
“I am particularly pleased to present the official 2020 Ducati Superbike team here in Imola, in the heart of the Motor Valley, just a few kilometers away from our factory in Borgo Panigale. Last year the Panigale V4 R made its debut in World Superbike and immediately showed its great competitiveness by winning 17 races, and contributed to the commercial success of the Panigale V4, which in 2019 was confirmed as the world’s best-selling sports bike in its segment. The new Panigale V4 S 2020, that is now available at Ducati dealers worldwide, has actually been inspired by the V4 R Superbike, with which it shares the fairing with the original winglets. I would like to thank Stefano Cecconi for the passion and professionalism with which he has taken this commitment since the beginning of our partnership and I wish Chaz, Scott and the whole team the best of luck for the championship that is about to start”.
Luigi Dall’Igna, General Manager of Ducati Corse.
“In the last months we have continued to work on the development of the Panigale V4 R as we are convinced that, despite the great competitiveness shown by our bike last year, the 2020 championship will be even more competitive thanks to the presence of new models from our main competitors. As Stefano Cecconi has already said, we have only one target, and that is to bring home the World Superbike title that we have been missing since 2011. We have two strong and very motivated riders: Chaz, who has been with us for seven years and is one of the pillars of the team, and Scott, a fresh BSB champion and already very fast during the winter tests. We believe to have all the necessary ingredients to be protagonists in every race of the championship starting from Phillip Island”.
Chaz Davies, Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7
“My expectations are very high. In the second part of the 2019 season our performances and results have improved considerably and, in the last races, we have always fought for the podium. The goal is to do even better and I believe that the experience accumulated over the years can help us. We have done a good job during the winter and the feeling is positive even though I have never been looking for the lap-time during the tests. I feel much better than I did 12 months ago, both physically and with the feeling with my bike. I want to thank all our fans for their support and I hope to celebrate many victories with them, maybe even in a few months on this same circuit”.
Scott Redding, Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #45.
“I’m very excited for this new adventure. It will be important to get off to a good start, especially on the first circuits that I know very well. We still have to understand where we really are in terms of absolute performance but it is clear that our mission is to start winning as soon as possible. I am very satisfied with what we achieved during the tests. I would like to thank the team that has done a great job and has given me a lot of confidence. We all have the same goal and this is a very important motivation. I would like to thank in a special way Aruba.it and Ducati for giving me this opportunity and for welcoming me in an exceptional way. What can I promise to the fans? I know that the passion of the Ducatisti is extraordinary and so I’ll give all my energy with just one goal: to bring the title back to Bologna”.
Now the 2020 Ducati WSB Team is officially unveiled, attention will turn to the opening race of the World Superbike season. The first event starts on 28th February at Phillip Island in Australia, which last year saw a triple win for Ducati with previous Aruba.it rider Alvaro Bautista.
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