According to British newspaper Motorcycle News, Ducati wants to get back on winning days in World SBK. The Italian brand has made huge investments in developing the current superbike machine, the Panigale R with the twin-cylinder engine, and from next year they’ll be introducing the Panigale V4 version.
The bike is still under a heavy development program, but the V4 engine will be a force to be reckoned with when it arrives in World Superbike.
So, Ducati Corse wants to add a champion to the new Panigale R, and what better rider than three-time Superbike champion and current championship leader Jonathan Rea?
Motorcycle News reports that Paolo Ciabatti, Ducati Corse Sporting Director, already spoke with Jonathan Rea in the past, but nothing happened. But now, the negotiations could take a different route, and Rea may become the new rider for the Aruba.it Ducati team.
Ciabatti says that that would be a good option, but Rea’s salary and the fact that he is happy at Kawasaki won’t make it easy for Ducati to get him away from the Japanese brand.
If Jonathan Rea arrives at Ducati, one of their two riders will need to leave the team.
Chaz Davies has been competitive in the last few seasons and is only surpassed by Jonathan Rea in terms of wins. Davies is one of the best riders at the moment in World Superbike, so we’re not seeing Ducati letting him go.
As for Marco Melandri, the veteran Italian rider has shown he can fight for the wins and be at the top in many races, but his results are somewhat inconsistent. If Rea arrives at Ducati, Melandri can be the one looking for a new team.
And speaking of riders changing teams, there’s also rumours on the paddock that Tom Sykes, Jonathan Rea’s teammate at Kawasaki, could also be on the move to another team.
We’ve told you already Sykes has an eye on a move to a satellite MotoGP team, but more and more sources point out that the Brit is actually very close to be back at the Yamaha team in World Superbike.
And the same way Sykes might enter Yamaha leaving Kawasaki, another British rider, in this case Alex Lowes, is considering making the opposite move. If Tom Sykes really goes back to Yamaha, Alex Lowes will probably end up signing for Kawasaki Racing Team.
It’s going to be really interesting to see how all this will end up!