Ducati and Xerox Announce World Superbike Partnership
Ducati Corse announced that it will take part in the 2005 World Superbike
Championship with a new title sponsor, Xerox. The announcement was made during
the international media launch of the team in the Ducati factory in Bologna,
Italy.
The deal, which will initially run for two years, will see the team renamed
Ducati Xerox Team. The partnership marks Xerox's second year in World Superbike
sponsorship. Xerox, who were introduced to the world of Superbike racing in 2004
with Stefano Caracchi's satellite Ducati NCR team, are now aiming for the top
through their association with the Championship's most successful protagonists.
The Ducati Corse factory team has dominated the sport in recent years, winning
five of the last seven World Riders Championships. Ducati Xerox Team enters 2005
as the reigning champions in both Constructor and Rider Championships. Briton
James Toseland and Frenchman Regis Laconi, who will race the Ducati 999 F05
machine, finished one-two last year with a total of 28 podium finishes including
10 race victories across the 11 round/22 race season.
Commenting on the sponsorship, Richard Wergan, Head of Marketing Communications
for Xerox Europe said: "Ducati has a rich legacy of producing winning teams and
bikes which perform to the highest standard. They also have a dynamic and
unrivalled image, and so a Xerox partnership with a brand such as Ducati - both
demonstrating technological innovation and high performance - is an extremely
desirable one. World Superbikes is one of the most exciting and fastest growing
motor sports in the world and sponsoring the number one team is highly
appropriate for a market leader such as Xerox," he said.
"World Superbike continues to be vitally important for Ducati and we have
demonstrated that with our commitment over the years, even when the championship
has been going through a less healthy period" declared Ducati Corse CEO Claudio
Domenicali. "Now we are very pleased to welcome the return of our traditional
competitors to the championship because it again offers us the possibility of
showcasing our racing products against world-class opposition on a level
playing-field.
"Racing is in Ducati's DNA and World Superbike is essential for the development
and EVOlution of our production bikes. When we race and win, we know that the
spin-off from racing will eventually be felt throughout the entire Ducati
production range.
"This year it gives me great pleasure to welcome the new partnership with Xerox,
who become our new title sponsor. Xerox and Ducati are both leaders in their
respective fields, both are internationally-renowned, highly successful and
enthusiastic companies and we are sure that the new Ducati Xerox Team will be a
force to contend with in the championship" concluded Domenicali.
Ducati 999R F06 Team Xerox 2006
2006 Press release
Troy Bayliss will go back to World Superbike
championship after 3 years in MotoGP. He'll rejoin the factory Ducati team with
whom he won the title back in 2001. He and Lorenzo Lanzi will replace the
current rider line up of James Toseland and Regis Laconi.
BAYLISS: "The biggest thing is that it feels like
I'm coming home ... I'm really looking forward to hopping back on a Ducati
Superbike. Even though the bike has changed quite a lot, the engine is still
very similar and has been much improved since I've been away so it's a built-in
package already waiting there for me. I have a lot of good memories from the
past and I aim to continue having more of them ... I've been there and done it
before, it's still all in the memory bank so hopefully I can come back and have
a good season next year. It's going to be awesome and I just can't wait to
start. The championship is looking strong now, all the manufacturers are back
and it's going to be great to be there with Ducati and challenge all the other
guys for the title".
LANZI: "I am really happy to join the factory
Ducati Xerox Team in the World Superbike Championship, because it was an aim I
had fixed for myself in 2003 when I was racing in Superstock. Now that it's
happened I am so happy because it is the dream of so many Italian riders to race
for the Ducati factory team. I have arrived in the team at the right time. I
know everyone in the squad and have already won two of the last races of the
season so my motivation is high. In addition I will have a true maestro at my
side like Troy Bayliss, who will help me for sure. Now I just can't wait to
start the new season with my new Ducati Xerox Team!"
DUCATI (Paolo Ciabatti) "Next year we will be
taking part in the World Superbike Championship with an exciting new rider
line-up and the F06 version of the Ducati 999. We warmly welcome Troy and
Lorenzo into the team and believe that this combination of experience and youth
will help us to continue our winning tradition in World Superbike. Rider changes
are always a hard choice to make and it was particularly difficult on this
occasion, because James Toseland and Regis Laconi have both made a fantastic
contribution to Ducati's success in the last two years, James winning the 2004
title and Regis scoring ten wins with us. I would like to thank them for
everything that they have done for Ducati in this period and wish them all the
best for the future"
Ducati 999R F07 Team Xerox 2007
2007 Press releade
The World Superbike Championship moves into its
twentieth year in 2007. Very little has changed for last year’s championship-winning
Ducati Xerox Team, which goes into the new season with renewed hopes of success, by double world champion Troy
Bayliss and his Italian team-mate Lorenzo Lanzi, who line up together again.
On the technical front the successful Ducati 999
machine, which enters its final year of world championship racing, also remains
the same, apart from an updated version of the idle control in the electronics
package. With title sponsor Xerox also on board for a third successive year, the
Ducati Xerox Team is gearing up for what promises to be another splendid year of
World Superbike racing.
Bayliss and Lanzi will race the 999 F07 in 2007.
Bayliss entry into the factory Ducati World Superbike team in 2000 came about
following Carl Fogarty’s career-ending crash in 2000. Sixth overall in his first
season was followed by the Australian’s domination in 2001 as he took the title.
His twelve wins in 2006 are testimony to the incredible competitiveness of the
Australian and he lines up for the next two seasons with the Ducati Xerox Team.
A reconfirmed Lorenzo Lanzi has been in terrific form over the winter,
recapturing the sort of performance that initially earned him his place in the
factory Ducati squad for 2006. Now it just remains for the 25 year-old Italian
to confirm those testing results in this year’s races.