Ducati to enter MotoGP 'in the near future.'

Ducati announced today, at a press conference prior to the start of 125cc first qualifying in Jerez, that they are building a prototype machine to enter in the premier MotoGP class, with official involvement in the World Superbike Championship set to continue.

Ducati Motor Holding SpA has entrusted its racing structure, Ducati Corse, with the task of studying the construction of the four-stroke prototype, which will eventually take part in the Grand Prix World Championship in the near future.

When pressed on the exact date of the new machines GP debut, its was stated at the press conference that Ducati will: "Start testing next year and then start racing depending on that testing performance."

This almost certainly means a 2003 debut, giving the Italian manufacturer an extra year's development before facing the the Japanese 4-stroke machines, to be introduced next year.

Ducati is the most successful manufacturer in the history of World Superbike, the championship reserved for four-stroke, large-cylinder production-based sportsbikes, and has won 17 titles (8 Riders' and 9 Manufacturers') in this category of racing since 1990.

This remarkable record, which has been achieved with its 'desmodromic' twin cylinder bikes, has contributed to the extraordinary commercial success of the Ducati marque, which has paralleled success in the World Superbike Championship.

A careful analysis of the opportunities offered by the new regulations, which allow 990cc four-stroke prototypes to take part in the GP category, together with the company's recent success, which saw a record production run of 39,000 motorbikes in the year 2000, has apparently convinced Ducati to embark on this ambitious new project.

Ducati Corse engineers are working on taking the concept of the twin-cylinder 'desmodromic' engine to its extreme limit. This radical new engine will eventually be inserted in a tubular trellis frame, in the best tradition of the Borgo Panigale manufacturer. The aim is to build a competitive and innovative prototype while at the same time maintaining the features that have made Ducati famous and successful throughout the world.

In the coming years Ducati will therefore be involved with factory teams on two fronts: in Superbike for the promotion and development of its own production bikes and in Grand Prix for the experimentation of new technologies.