Current Moto2 rider Francesco Bagnaia has signed a two-year deal with the Pramac Ducati MotoGP team.
The 21-year-old Italian will realise his MotoGP dream in 2019 and 2020 onboard Ducati machinery.
The announcement was made by Bagnaia and the SkyVR46 Racing team on Twitter.
It looks like the 2019 MotoGP ‘silly season’ has started super early with the signing of Francesco Bagnaia to move up to the premier class with Pramac Ducati. The news of the young Italian signing a two-year MotoGP deal was announced by himself and the SkyVR46 racing team on Twitter.
“What do you want to be when you grow up?"
"I want to drive a Ducati in MotoGP.”Today I grew up and from 2019 I will ride a Ducati in MotoGP; Thank to @DucatiMotor , @pramacracing , @SkyRacingTeam , @VRRidersAcademy pic.twitter.com/6bYmAa2pmn
— Pecco Bagnaia (@PeccoBagnaia) February 21, 2018
Bagnaia has been in close contact with Ducati for some time now. Ducati Corse Sporting Director Paolo Ciabatti has expressed his interest in the 21-year-old where he has shown promising results, especially in Moto3 and Moto2. Bagnaia was honoured with the Moto2 Rookie of the Year title after finishing his maiden intermediate season in an impressive fifth.
This also means that Danilo Petrucci will be leaving the Pramac Ducati squad by the end of the season. However, there is a clause in his contract where he can get a seat in the factory squad if there’s an opening. With the factory squad currently contented with both Andrea Dovizioso and Jorge Lorenzo, we might just have to wait a bit longer for the fate of Petrucci for 2019.
So far, only two riders have confirmed their seats for 2019 and 2020. The first rider to announce his extension was Maverick Vinales where he renewed his contract with the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP squad during the livery launch.
Stay tuned to Bikes Republic for more MotoGP updates.
