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The Ducati Marlboro squad have a fresh management crew set for the upcoming MotoGP year, with Alessandro Cicognani claiming
the position of Project Manager for the premier class this season.
Cicognani will unite alongside Team Manager
Vittoriano Guareschi, and gives his views on how his role occurred.
“I’ve been working with Ducati
since 2000, the beginning of when Ducati Corse was created, and I’ve been working in various departments since then
so I had the opportunity to work very closely with Livio Suppo (former Project Manager), Filippo Preziosi (Ducati Corse General
Manager) and also Claudio Domenicali (General Director of Ducati) and all the team,” says Cicognani. “Then, late
in the summer when Livio decided to take a different path, I made myself available for the company and they decided to give
me this opportunity. I am very motivated by this and know it’s a big responsibility, but I’m very confident about
this new role that I am going to be in.”
Cicognani adds: “I have always been a fan (of MotoGP). I remember
the World Championship of Marco Lucchinelli back in 1981 which was followed by Franco Uncini. I have always been passionate
about motorsport in general, on four wheels and two! I come from the same country as most of the riders here – from
the Emilia-Romagna region – and some of the best manufacturers such as Ferrari, Ducati and many others. Let’s
say that I have gasoline in my veins!”
With Suppo leaving, the structure at Ducati required changes. Cicognani
will be Project Manager with Guareschi as Team Manager, the latter describes his ideas of his colleague.
“Vittoriano
has a very important role in the team, because he will be the ears and the voice of the riders,” says Cicognani. “He
will be the direct link between the track and all the technicians and engineers to really understand the feeling the riders
have with the bikes. Being a test rider for so many years has given him a very specialised feeling about how to ride a bike
– especially in MotoGP and particularly our bike. Thanks to Vittoriano, Ducati has been able to achieve very important
results in these past eight years.”
On the season ahead, he explains, “I hope for sure that we have
two strong riders. We have a bike that so far looks okay, so let’s say we have an entire package together with the team.
I hope the new team will bring additional value to the project and we’ll keep our fingers crossed!”
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