Ducati denies Rossi deal
Ducati has denied rumours that they have signed seven-time MotoGP world Champion Valentino Rossi. Rossi is leaving Yamaha and it was widely speculated that he would be joining forces with the Italian Ducati team next season when Casey Stoner leaves.
“Recent news which has appeared on websites has been misreported and must be attributed to the many rumours circulating lately," a statement released from the Ducati team read. “Whether and when a deal is reached an official press release will be issued."
Stoner announced his departure from Ducati would take place at the end of the season, after which he would be driving for Honda. Rossi has just returned to the MotoGP scene after recovering from a broken leg, an injury that has realistically ended any hopes of him retaining another world title this year.
Rossi is currently in fifth place while his Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo is taking up his usual position in the lead. Dani Pedrosa is 72 points behind Lorenzo. Given Rossi’s impressive history it wouldn’t be a surprise if he doesn’t give up without mounting an attempt to recover lost ground and a high position over the next nine rounds of races.
Rumours of the partnership between Ducati and Rossi began circulating earlier this week when it was quoted that Ducati president and chief executive Gabriel Del Torchio said Rossi would be paired with Nicky Hayden in the 2011 Ducati MototGP team. The company has backtracked, denying their commitment to either racer.
“Regarding the recent allegations attributed to Mr Del Torchio,Ducati states that no agreement has been reached with the riders Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden for the future MotoGP season, although our interest in these riders remains," the Ducati statement said.
Despite Ducati’s secretiveness it was already expected that Rossi would be ending his seven-year partnership with Yamaha. It was anticipated Rossi would make the announcement at Brno in the Czech Republic during the next round of the MotoGP championship, August 14-15.
Lin Jarvis, Yamaha racing boss, had previously stated that the 2011 team would be announced before the Brno race and it’s widely known that Ben Spies, World Superbikes champion, will be Lorenzo’s new team-mate.
Rossi’ earned himself a victory after the first round at Qatar in the start of the 2010 season, a good start to his bid for an eighth world title. Then Rossi suffered a motorcross training accident and received a persistent shoulder injury.
He drove through the pain, proving his dedication to the sport by coming in third place at Jarez. Second place behind Lorenzo at Le Mans for the third round, he proved he was not only capable of overcoming his injury but also set up another intense battle for the title between Rossi and Lorenzo.
Then disaster stuck. During a practice session at his home track Mugello Rossi crashed, fracturing his right tibia and fibula. This time Rossi wouldn’t be able to recover from his injuries as easily as he had before. Rossi was forced to miss four races to recover, however that was a considerably shorter period of time than had been projected for recovery.
The hiatus ended his 230 successive Grand Prix starts, as the Italian driver had never missed a race since his debut in 1996. But four weeks later Rossi was back on a bike, testing a superbike at Misano in the first weeks of July.
Rossi and Fiat Yamaha decided he would attempt a comeback at Sachsenring where he finished in fourth position. He just missed a podium spot after losing his place during the final corner of the last lap. In the next race weekend at Laguna Sacks Rossi came in third proving he still has a lot of fight in him.
Tags: