Ducati Team Chooses Andrea Dovizioso For 2017-2018 MotoGP Seasons

In a brief announcement today, Ducati says that it has reached an agreement with Andrea Dovizioso for the 2017 and 2018 MotoGP seasons. The Romagna-born rider who has been with Ducati since 2013 will team up with Jorge Lorenzo for the next two seasons aboard the Ducati Team's Desmosedici GP race bike.

Andrea Dovizioso said, "I'm very pleased to have reached this agreement with Ducati and to be able to continue the adventure we began in 2013. Over the years we worked hard and have managed to bring the Desmosedici to a great level of competitiveness and therefore I am convinced that soon we will get all the rewards we deserve."

Ducati Team General Manager Luigi Dall'Igna said, "It's never easy to take a decision like this one, especially when you have two great riders like the two Andreas in your team. We are very happy that Dovizioso has agreed to stay with us for the next two years, and together with him we can continue the successful work we began four years ago in order to reach the ambitious aims we have set for ourselves. We are sorry for Andrea Iannone , who at the end of the season will no longer be a part of the team. Andrea has carried out an important job in these years and has made a significant contribution to the development of the Ducati Desmosedici GP. For this reason we would like to thank him and we will provide him with our maximum commitment in the next rounds of the championship, in order to obtain the prestigious results that are for sure within his reach."

"Obviously I am sorry that my time with Ducati will draw to a close at the end of this season," said Iannone, "but I am grateful to the Bologna manufacturer for the opportunity it has given me in the last few years. I made my MotoGP debut with Ducati and I have grown up with them, always succeeding in improving my level of performance. In the remaining races I will give my all, as I always do, because I am convinced that thanks to the competitiveness of the Desmosedici GP we can achieve some great results."

The 2016 championship will be Andrea Iannone’s final season with the Ducati Team. The Abruzzo-born rider, after two years in the “factory-supported” Pramac Racing outfit, moved to the factory team in 2015, immediately showing his great talent and pace. He will undoubtedly give his utmost in the remaining rounds of the season in order to conclude his experience in Ducati in the best possible way.