Objavljeno: 18.08.2017
The Aruba.it Racing - Ducati team officially finalized its roster for the 2018 WorldSBK Championship extending for one more year its professional collaboration with Marco Melandri, who will ride once again alongside Chaz Davies.
The synergy between the 35-year-old Italian and both the team and the Panigale R was clear from the very beginning, and Melandri showed his competitiveness to collect seven podiums – including a memorable win at Misano in front of the home crowd – in eight rounds thus far.
Melandri will share the pits again with Chaz Davies, who signed a two-year contract in 2016, to form one of the most successful pair in WorldSBK with a collective prize record of 44 wins and 115 podiums to date.
“I’m really happy for the opportunity to prolong this professional collaboration, which represented a new beginning in my career as a rider,” said Melandri. “Together with Ducati and Aruba.it, we enjoyed some really memorable moments, while in other occasions I think my long break from racing affected our performance, so I’m sure there’s still plenty of room to improve. To this end, continuing with the same team and the same bike represents the best possible opportunity to achieve higher goals. I’m ready to tackle a new season with more experience and confidence, and it’s a challenge that makes me incredibly happy. First of all, however, we need to finish the current championship as strongly as possible. With five rounds to go, we’ll always give our 100 percent and assess our performance in the end.”
