Ducati launched their 2019 MotoGP campaign at the Philip Morris R&D cube in Neuchâtel, Switzerland this evening.
The Mission Winnow Ducati team, as it is now called, consisting of Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci were presented to the world on stage in Switzerland, in a new livery with a lot more red and a lot less white in it compared to previous years, in a throwback to the 2008 color scheme.
Like that color scheme, there is a link to Philip Morris once again, though this time, indirectly. But much more on that later.
In a tightly-scripted presentation, Ducati managed to let slip just enough information to make the presentation interesting, without giving too much away.
But, what they did let slip was enough to allow observers to read between the lines for an insight into the factory.
Ducati Corse boss Gigi Dall’Igna spoke briefly about the bike for 2019, but more importantly, sketched a picture of how the team and the team’s two riders will function in much more of a partnership. This was in stark contrast to the combative atmosphere which prevailed when Ducati had both Andrea Dovizioso and Jorge Lorenzo aiming to win the championship.
The objectives given at any team presentation are always the same: to try to win the championship, and win as many races as possible along the way. But for Ducati, those objectives are actually realistic.
Reigning champion Marc Márquez will start the season as strong favorite, but it is Andrea Dovizioso who has finished second in the MotoGP championship for the past two seasons, and pushed Márquez hardest.