Ducati plan garage reshuffle
Added on Monday, November 2nd, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor
Ducati plan garage reshuffle
Ducati will be undertaking a garage reshuffle for 2010 with reports in Italy suggesting that long-time test rider Vittorio Guareschi is to be promoted to the position of team manager.
Guareschi, who quit World Superbikes to become Ducati test rider in 2001, will act in a liaison role between the team’s riders, Nicky Hayden and Casey Stoner, and team management, namely technical director Filippo Preziosi.
It’s believed that the introduction of someone with hands-on race experience of the Desmosedici to the Ducati hierarchy will propel Stoner and Hayden to success in 2010.
“I’m going to fill a void, in the sense that a team manager role hasn’t existed in Team Ducati before,” Guareschi told to Motosprint. “I will be the link between the riders and [technical director] Filippo Preziosi. I will be close to the riders, I’ll go on the track to see what happens and I will be an advisor to them. Finally, I will also manage the work in the garage.
“I have been the tester of this bike (the 800cc Desmosedici) since the beginning, so I know it perfectly. In this regard, I can really give the riders a hand. This is why Casey wants me to continue testing too. I don’t think I will do it for much longer, though; I’m 38, so I will have to quit in a couple of years time.”
