Don’t worry, we confirm that the photo at the opening of the piece is just a photomontage and not footage stolen from the vault of Borgo Panigale in Bologna. But the picture actually reflects what we will see in 2021, namely Pecco Bagnaia and Jack Miller ride the factory bikes of the Ducati team. As for Miller, his fate has been known for some time, but the formalization of Bagnaia at his side was only made today, respecting the timing expected by Paolo Ciabatti, who asked everyone to wait a few days after the Barcelona Round before they did announced the official line – for the next season.
A promotion of both Team Pramac Drivers who open the doors too Johann Zarco in a team that is increasingly becoming a guaranteed ‘ritual-of-passage’ team for anyone who has the ambition to drive in the official Borgo Panigale colors. The Frenchman will have a GP21 at his disposal, just like the two motorcycles of the works team, so that he can always count on technical support at the highest level and maybe create a chance to advance to the factory team for the future. Rookie Jorge Martin will be there alongside the French.
In fact, this is the only way we can define the Ducati Factory Team and perfectly replicate what is already happening in Formula 1, with the driver management system shared between the officials Red Bull and Alpha Tauri teams (formerly Toro Rosso). The four drivers in these teams are aware that they always have to do their best to stay on the first team, and Red Bull, knowing that they have all the cards in hand, especially with younger drivers, manages to keep everyone focused and the keep your own driver under pressure.
The official press release follows:
Ducati Corse is proud to announce the names of the four official Ducati riders for the 2021 MotoGP World Championship. Francesco Bagnaia will join the official team alongside the already confirmed Jack Miller. At the same time, Johann Zarco and Jorge Martín will defend the colors of the Pramac Racing Team for the next season.
Francesco “Pecco” Bagnaia, 2018 Moto2 World Champion, made his MotoGP debut last year with the Pramac Racing Team’s Ducati Desmosedici GP machine and has shown steadily growing competitiveness this year, battling for the podium in several GPs. In 2021, the 23-year-old from Piedmont will join his current team-mate Jack Miller in the Ducati team, which is in its seventh season in the premier class.
Jack Miller, 25 years old, Australian rider from Townsville, made his debut in the 125cc class in the 2011 World Championship. After battling for the Moto3 world title in 2014, he moved straight to MotoGP in 2015, taking part in 93 races in this category and for the last three seasons with the Pramac Racing Team.
The two new drivers of the Pramac Racing Team have a total of three world championship titles. Johann Zarco, a 30-year-old Frenchman, won the Moto2 world title in 2015 and 2016 and this year he is racing in MotoGP with Team Esponsorama’s Ducati machine, with which he took pole position and a third place in the race Brno. With him, there will be a rookie in the category in the factory-supported Borgo Panigale team, the Spaniard Jorge Martín, 22 years old, Moto3 World Champion 2018 in his current second season in Moto2.
All four official riders will ride the latest version of the Desmosedici GP bikes with the same technical specifications.
Claudio Domenicali, Ducati Motor Holding CEO: “Racing is an evolving incubator for advanced technology that is a fundamental part of our business. It is important to continue investing in research and development and not be afraid of innovation and renewal in order to be successful That is why I am pleased to welcome young and talented drivers who allow us to look to the future with optimism and a constant desire to improve. Jack Miller and Pecco Bagnaia have shown this year that they can exploit the potential of our Desmosedici GP bike and they deserve this chance. Your move to the official team of the Pramac Racing Team, where they both grew up, is proof of the efficient cooperation that connects us with Paolo Campinoti’s team, whom I would like to thank. I am sure that his team will be able to fully exploit the talent of the two new drivers Johann Zarco and Jorge Martín next year. But now we are concentrating on the current season, because we want to achieve the best possible result with our two drivers: Andrea, who was vice world champion with us for three years in a row in these eight years, won 14 GPs and is thus the most successful Ducati driver after Stoner and is still fighting for the world title and Danilo this year. Danilo working hard to fight for the podium again. Together with them, we will do everything we can to bring our wonderful adventure together to the best possible conclusion. “