This is the Aruba.it Racing Ducati Superbike that will be racing in the 2019 FIM World Superbike Championship. For the 2019 World Superbike season, Ducati will
campaign the new Ducati Panigale R V4 superbike, which will be ridden by Chaz
Davies and Alvaro Bautista.
Press release issued by Aruba.it
The Aruba.it Racing - Ducati team for the 2019 Superbike World Championship
was presented inside the futuristic surroundings of Aruba’s Global Cloud Data
Center at Ponte San Pietro near Bergamo.
There are two major changes for the Italian team – regarding both the bike
and the riders – as it lines up for the 32nd season of World Superbike racing.
On a technical level, the 2019 season marks a historic turning-point for the
Borgo Panigale manufacturer. Present since the very first edition of the world
championship back in 1988 and winner of 17 Manufacturers’ and 14 Riders’ titles,
Ducati will be racing a four-cylinder Superbike for the very first time – the
Panigale V4 R – derived from the road bike presented at EICMA in November last
year and acclaimed by the visiting public as a masterpiece of ‘Made in Italy’
style, technology and performance. The Panigale V4 R – developed on the basis of
experience accumulated in MotoGP – features a number of evolutions from the
previous model, not only from an engine point of view, but also in terms of
chassis, electronics and aerodynamics. As testament to this historic moment for
Ducati and Aruba, the unveiling of the Panigale V4 R on the stage was carried
out personally by the two CEOs of their respective companies.
With regard to the riders, the arrival of Álvaro Bautista is equally
significant, the Spaniard highly motivated and ready to face a new professional
challenge in Superbike after nine years spent racing in MotoGP. The 34-year-old
from Talavera de la Reina is a rider with considerable experience, having also
raced in 250cc and in 125cc, the category in which he won the title in 2006, and
he has rapidly adapted to the new technical scenario. He will line up alongside
the 31-year-old Welshman from Knighton, Chaz Davies, three-time championship
runner-up in the last four seasons, who has put the past year’s bad injuries
behind him and who will tackle his sixth successive season in Superbike aboard a
factory Ducati.
Stefano Cecconi, CEO of Aruba S.p.A. and Team Principal:
“I’m very proud to begin this new adventure with the Panigale V4 R in the
Superbike World Championship together with Ducati and we can’t wait to get back
on the track for this exciting challenge, which we will tackle with more
enthusiasm than ever. The previous seasons have given us a lot of satisfaction,
but we still have to achieve that much-coveted title, and the Panigale V4 R
undoubtedly represents an extra resource in our arsenal. The bike’s potential is
really high, and there are no limits to our ambitions. Ever since we started to
collaborate with Ducati, we have always been protagonists in the Superbike World
Championship, and we count on being so this year as well with Chaz and Álvaro,
whom I’d like to warmly welcome into our team. They are two competitive and
complete riders, and they have all the right cards to race constantly for the
top positions. We’ll do everything possible to put them in a condition to get
the most out of their own potential and that of the bike, and write further
chapters in Ducati’s winning history in Superbike.”
Claudio Domenicali, CEO of Ducati Motor Holding: “This year
we will truly witness a historic turning-point. Racing is an inseparable part of
Ducati, just think of the many examples in which the technology and know-how
developed on the track have then been applied to production models. The Panigale
V4 is a perfect example of this philosophy: it’s the first Ducati production
bike to be fitted with a four-cylinder engine and equipped with technology
coming from MotoGP. In just twelve months it has become the new benchmark for
style, technology and performance, with more than 6,100 units delivered across
the globe, and it has allowed us – for the first time ever in company history –
to achieve a global sales record in the superbike market segment. Now we also
want to take it to the top on the track, its natural habitat, by making it
become the king of SBK in the 1000cc R version.”
Luigi Dall’Igna, General Manager of Ducati Corse: “The V4 R
is the result of the synergy between MotoGP and SBK within our Racing
Department. The most obvious example is the V4 engine, which derives directly
from the experience accumulated on track with the Desmosedici GP, but there are
many other details, including the aerodynamics package, which make it special.
The project is still at an early stage and development has started auspiciously
well, but we still have to perfect several details and we have a clearly-defined
development programme. There is no question that we have a great pair of riders,
so it’s up to us to allow them to express all their potential on track. We’ll be
working with only one aim in mind: to win.”
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati #7): “I’m very excited
and motivated about the season that’s about to start. After five years and many
great memories with the twin-cylinder bike, the time has come to begin a new
challenge and I can’t wait to get back on track with the Panigale V4 R. My last
tests were hampered a bit by the twinge I felt in my back, but my overall
physical condition is much better than last year and in any case we managed to
complete our test schedule. We’ve still got two more days of testing left and
they will be fundamental to define the last details, and then finally we’ll be
racing again. The start of the year is going to be even more exciting than ever,
and having a new bike – as well as a new team-mate – is going to be extra
motivation for me.”
Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati #19): “I can’t
wait to start this new adventure. The balance of the winter tests is really
positive. The project is a new one and there’s still a lot of work to be done
but lap after lap we found a good base to work on. I still have to adapt to this
new technical situation, particularly the tyres, but the performance shown in
just six days of testing is undoubtedly encouraging. Phillip Island is a
spectacular track and I’ve always liked it, there couldn’t be a better place to
begin this exciting new adventure and we’ll do our best to be ready.”
Any corrections or more information on these motorcycles will be kindly appreciated.