2013 was always going to be a big year for the Ducati team. After a fairly awful 2 seasons on the Moto GP circuit where they picked up a dismal, by Ducati’s standards, 4 podium finishes there is a renewed sense of hope for the 2013 season especially with some new riders and fresh blood being injected into the Ducati racing team. The Italians are getting ready to officially launch the Desmosedici GP13 at the Wrooom Press Ski Meeting, at Madonna di Campiglio in the North of Italy, that starts today and lasts until the 19th of January. The annual event, now in its 23rd year, is the perfect opportunity for the team to kick start a new era of Ducati racing with a new bike and new racers with the added bonus of new owners in Audi as well. While the stage will be shared with the Ferrari F1 team at the event, most of the attention is going to be focused on Ducati and how they are going to set up in 2013 with so many changes to their racing team. Nicky Hayden and Andrea Dovizioso join the Ducati team for the 2013 season and will hold their first official Ducati press conference during the event. Following this, they will then get the chance to meet legions of loyal Ducati fans as their supporters hope that the new year brings much more luck than the previous two. Much made of Valentino Rossi’s move to Ducati for the 2011 circuit, after all the Italian was one of the most iconic racers around not to mention one of the most successful, however a barren couple of seasons for the Tavullia born rider has meant that Ducati is on unfamiliar ground at the minute in terms of recent success. However, the emphasis isn’t just on the Ducati Team riders as both Andrea Iannone and Ben Spies who have been recruited to Team Pramac for 2013 will be in attendance for the event as well. Pramac are being supported and sponsored by the Borgo Panigale factory directly for the 2013 season and with two riders with the talent of Iannone (with 8 wins and 19 podium finishes between 2010-12) and Ben Spies (who left Yamaha in acrimonious circumstances) then Ducati are widening their chances of having a successful 2013. Wednesday on wards will see a combination of both Ducati and Scuderia Ferrari in their respective press conferences. Much is anticipated of Ducati Corse’s press conference with the team general manager Bernhard Gobmeier who has just recently taken over from Filippo Preziosi. The German used to be the Superbike Director with BMW and his wealth of experience is expected to be a welcome addition to Ducati especially with the recent Audi takeover. He will unveil the team’s plans for the 2013 season and this will coincide with the official launch of the Desmosedici GP13 and four bikes are to be launched at the event – two for the Ducati Corse team and two for Team Pramac. 2011 and 2012 may have been disappointing for Ducati however with a new managerial team in place, Audi backing as well as the addition to new riders to both teams then big things are expected this year – whether or not they can buck the trend of recent disappointments remains to be seen.
