'Wasn't hard to convince Lorenzo to join Ducati'
Lorenzo and Yamaha announced on Monday their eight-year partnership would come to an end at the conclusion of the season. Ducati then confirmed the defending MotoGP champion would link up with the team for the next two years.
Published : Apr 19, 2016 13:55 IST
Ducati sporting director Paolo Ciabatti revealed it did not take much convincing to get defending MotoGP champion Jorge Lorenzo to join the Italian manufacturer next season.
Lorenzo and Yamaha announced on Monday their eight-year partnership - which has yielded three world titles - would come to an end at the conclusion of the season.
Ducati then confirmed the Spaniard would link up with the team for the next two years as they search for their first championship since 2007. "I would say no," Ciabatti told
"Clearly, this year all the contracts of the top riders were expiring, and with Lorenzo there had been a tentative approach some time ago. Like in all these cases, it was quite a complex negotiation process, but we managed to then reach an agreement fairly quickly.
"I believe in the strength of our bike, which this year has demonstrated itself to be very competitive, paving the way for this agreement."
While Lorenzo has been tied down for the next two seasons, Ducati has a tough choice to decide which of Andrea Dovizioso or Andrea Iannone they keep on as the 28-year-old's team-mate.
"We haven't decided anything, our priority has been to conclude this agreement [with Lorenzo]," Ciabatti added.
"Now it will take a bit of time to work out which of the two Andreas will stay in the team. It's an unpleasant decision because both are exceptional guys.We spoke to Jorge and he doesn't mind who his team-mate will be. He respects both Dovizioso and Iannone and hasn't given us any indication [who he would prefer to stay]."