In an interview with US website Cycle World, Del Torchio was quoted as saying that “I look forward to Valentino Rossi teaming up with Nicky Hayden,” therefore revealing that Ducati has already agreed terms with the two riders.
“Regarding the recent allegations attributed to Gabriele Del Torchio - Ducati CEO and President, Ducati states that no agreement has been reached with the riders Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden for the future Moto GP season, although our interest in these riders remains,” said the statement.
“We would like to say that the recent news which has appeared on the US website Cycle World and other websites has been misreported and must be attributed to the many rumors circulating lately. Whether and when an agreement is reached, official press releases will be issued,” added the Ducati document.
Truth be told, we don't see what the fuss is all about, as the Valentino Rossi-Ducati move is close to 100 percent certain for quite some time; ever since Casey Stoner confirmed his departure from Ducati for a place at Honda, to be more precise. The deal is expected to be announced during the Czech Republic GP at Brno, 10 days from now. So it's not like Cycle World has discovered plutonium by accident, but rather Del Torchio forgot what day it was when giving the interview. Anyway, just to "keep the suspense", we'll wait until the Brno race to have it all sorted out. Officially, that is.
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