DUCATI CORSE FACTORY RIDERS MEET UP IN BOLOGNA
 On
the eve of the start of SBK and MotoGP Championships, the
Italian manufacturer’s official riders met up with their
fans in the factory and ….in the discotheque!
Bologna, Monday 13 February 2006 – The official Ducati
Corse riders all came to Bologna last week for their traditional
visit to the factory before the start of the MotoGP and World
Superbike Championships, which will see them heading off to
the five continents.
On Thursday afternoon, Loris Capirossi, Sete Gibernau, Troy
Bayliss, Lorenzo Lanzi and Vittoriano Guareschi first met
up with Ducati employees, who didn’t miss an opportunity
to shake hands, ask for autographs and photos and wish the
five riders all the best as they get ready to represent the
Italian manufacturers colours in the two championships.
It was am extraordinary return home for Troy Bayliss who,
after a gap of one year, returned to the Ducati factory to
find that he was still one of the employees’ all-time
favourite riders. The times set by the Australian during recent
tests in Valencia and Qatar demonstrate that the 2001 Superbike
champion has not lost the feeling with the twin-cylinder Ducati
Superbike. He will be flanked in this Superbike season by
the talented youngster Lorenzo Lanzi, the first Italian to
ride for the official World Superbike team since Pierfrancesco
Chili in 1998; Lanzi was able to feel at first hand the full
impact of being a factory rider as he was swamped by numerous
Ducati employees.
An incredible welcome was reserved for ‘veteran’
Loris Capirossi, the new signing in the MotoGP team Sete Gibernau
and test-rider Vittoriano Guareschi. Loris might feel entirely
at home in the Borgo Panigale factory, but every time he appears
the warmth with which he is greeted within Ducati becomes
even greater: for him hundreds of photos, autographs, hugs,
complements and words of encouragement for the tough season
that lies ahead. A warm welcome was also reserved for the
Spanish rider, who immediately felt at ease amidst the passionate
climate of his new family, which believes a lot in his potential
and talent. Despite the fact that he is not in the spotlights,
long-serving test-rider Vittoriano Guareschi was also greeted
with affection and esteem by Ducati employees, who are perfectly
aware of the vital importance of his work.
After meeting up with Ducati employees, the Borgo Panigale
‘Big 5’ were guests of honour in the evening at
‘Rosso di Sera’, the annual party organised by
the Ducati Owners Club of Bologna in one of the city’s
most popular nightclubs. Together with the 1600 people who
had come to the discotheque to see them, Loris, Sete, Troy,
Lorenzo and Vito welcomed in the 2006 season.
All four have accepted a tough but not impossible challenge
and are ready to give their utmost so as not to disappoint
the expectations of their fans, obtain good results and to
give them the emotions and thrills that only the Borgo Panigale
manufacturer is able to offer.
From tomorrow onwards Loris Capirossi and Sete Gibernau will
be taking part in the final winter test session outside of
Europe, at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia from Tuesday 14th
to Thursday 16th February. Ducati Corse’s World Superbike
riders have already concluded their winter testing programme
and will get their first taste of championship action soon
as they head to Qatar next week for the opening round of the
championship at the Losail desert circuit on Saturday 25th
February.
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