“The problem is the budget” for Ducati WorldSBK team amid MotoGP rider links
Go Eleven has multiple rider options for WorldSBK 2027, says team boss Denis Sacchetti, but there is a money “problem”.
There are multiple rider options available for the Go Eleven Ducati team in WorldSBK, says team boss Denis Sacchetti, but finding the money to take more than one of them is a “problem”, he says.
Sacchetti’s Go Eleven team took on Lorenzo Baldassarri this year, a choice which raised eyebrows when it was announced, but it has proven to be a solid one with the former Moto2 and World Supersport race winner having taken two podiums so far this year to currently sit seventh in the riders’ standings after eight rounds.
But the competitiveness of the Ducati machinery he has ridden has made Go Eleven an attractive team for other riders, including – per rumours that emerged over the summer – MotoGP race winner Alex Rins, who will no longer be at the factory Yamaha team after the end of this season.
Rins has said himself that WorldSBK is not the only option he is exploring for next season, but a move to Go Eleven would either mean replacing Baldassarri or adding a second bike for the Italian squad.
Given the positive impact Baldassarri has made in his first eight rounds with the team, a reluctance to drop him at the end of this year would be understandable, and so a second bike is an option being explored by Sacchetti.
As with many things in motorcycle racing, however, finding the budget to field a second Panigael V4 R is not straightforward.
“It’s too early to say something,” Denis Sacchetti told the WorldSBK world feed broadcast about the current rider situation at Go Eleven and the possibility to have two bikes next season.
“We are working, of course, for have two bikes next season, but it’s not easy. It’s really hard because the problem is the budget.
“We are working hard.
“We have to decide before the end of September, for sure. In 15 or 20 days we will have the answer that we need to understand if there is an opportunity, a real opportunity, to do the second bike or not.”
Sacchetti added that keeping Baldassarri remains an option for the team, but nothing is yet decided.
“About the riders, we have some different options on the table,” he said.
“One, for sure, is to continue with Baldassarri, but I can’t say anything at the moment because it’s too early.”
Alex joined the Crash.net team in August of 2024 having covered consumer and racing motorcycle news at Visordown for two years.
