Wrooom - MotoGP Press Ski Meeting 2008
CASEY STONER AND MARCO MELANDRI UNVEIL THE DESMOSEDICI
GP8
 Day
one at Wrooom - MotoGP Press Ski Meeting 2008 was action-packed
with a press conference attended by reigning World Champion,
Casey Stoner, and his new team mate, Marco Melandri, wearing
the official Ducati Marlboro Team gear for the first time.
The Ducati Desmosedici GP8 launch was set in the breathtaking
scenery of Madonna di Campiglio in the Trento Dolomites. The
two riders ceremoniously broke an ice sculpture to reveal
the new bike in its 2008 livery and tomorrow, Ducati Corse
CEO and General Director Ducati Motor Holding, Claudio Domenicali,
will talk to the press about the bike's technical innovations.
The press conference began with Marco Melandri revealing
how excited he is to wear the Italian World Champion team
colours for the first time.
"I feel great in red!" He exclaimed. "I'm
so happy to have become part of the Ducati family. I'd dreamt
of riding a Ducati ever since I first saw one. When I tried
on my new leathers yesterday, I felt quite emotional. I'm
aware of the big opportunity I have been given this year.
It's not going to be easy, but it will be exciting and I'm
ready to commit entirely to reward all those who wanted me
to be here. I'm really impressed with how people work at Ducati.
Although they've already achieved the greatest goal, winning
the World Championship, they have continued to work relentlessly.
After my first tests, I gave feed-back to the engineers so
that my bike could be adjusted to match my requirements and
now, I can't wait to hit the track again to train for this
season. As soon as we manage to fine-tune the bike we'll be
very competitive."
"This is such a wonderful event," said Casey Stoner
taking over from Melandri at the press conference table. "I'm
happy to be here although it meant celebrating my first wedding
anniversary on a flight from Australia! I hope to be able
to have fun and do some skiing too, maybe cross-country skiing.
I don't want to run any risks snowboarding. This holiday break
after our latest test was just what I needed to unwind after
a fantastic, although extremely challenging season. I also
needed to recover after my shoulder injury from the Jerez
tests. I feel much better now, although I'll only know if
I'm completely recovered when I get back in the saddle. I'm
happy to begin a new season with the same bike and the same
team, it's a first for me since I started to race. The feeling
is just perfect with everyone at Ducati: Claudio, Filippo,
Livio and all of my team, I wouldn't change a thing. As for
my bike, I haven't suggested any big changes either, because
we already had such a competitive package. We are only going
to work on a few details. Winning a World Championship has
taken a big weight off my shoulders: all my parents' sacrifices,
all the hard times in the past, it's all behind me now. This
year, I'll continue to work in order to try and repeat my
performance of last year and be even stronger and faster,
but I'll be able to do that in a very different spirit".
Tomorrow, the event schedule includes Claudio Domenicali's
meeting with the press to explain the technical innovations
of the Desmosedici GP8 in detail.
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