Ducati Signs Chaz Davies and Davide Giugliano to WSBK Factory Team
Ducati announced the signing of Chaz Davies and Davide Giugliano to race on the 1199 Panigale for the World Superbike Championship. The two riders will race for Ducati’s full factory team, which will operate without Team Alstare, which ran Ducati’s WSBK program this season.
Both Davies and Giugliano have signed two-year contracts with Ducati. The Italian manufacturer feels the length of the contract will give Ducati enough time to turn its program around after a disappointing debut season for the 1199 Panigale. Ducati still has yet to announce the organization of the team, but it won’t involve Alstare which ended its partnership with Ducati due to the loss of one of its main sponsors.
Davies finished fifth overall with three race wins and six total podiums in the 2013 WSBK season for the now-defunct BMW Goldbet team. Davies entered the WSBK series the year before with the ParkinGo MTC team riding the Aprilia RSV4 Factory, registering a win and three third-place finishes as a rookie. Before that, Davies raced two seasons in the World Supersport class, winning the 2011 championship on a Yamaha R6. Prior to that, Davies spent three seasons in AMA Pro Racing, competing in the Formula Xtreme, Supersport and Sportbike classes.
Giugliano had a pair of second-place results to finish sixth overall in the 2013 WSBK season with the Althea Aprilia team. Giugliano entered the series in 2012 with Althea, riding a Ducati 1098. Giugliano also rode the 1098 to win the 2011 Superstock 1000 championship.
[Source: Ducati]
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