Reigning MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo is announced to leave Yamaha by the end of the year to join Ducati for the next two seasons.
Ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez, Lorenzo’s move to Ducati has been announced. Lorenzo is set to spend the 2017 and 2018 seasons with the Italian squad, ending an eight-year partnership with Yamaha.
Just to sum up, Yamaha and Lorenzo’s association accumulated 41 win, 99 podiums, 36 pole positions and counting to the end of the year.
This move opens doors at Yamaha to fill Valentino Rossi’s teammate’s seat. The name of Maverick Viñales is the most mentioned despite the other offers he has. The name of Lorenzo’s future teammate is unsure as well, putting some more pressure on Andrea Dovizioso and Andrea Iannone’s shoulders.
If Lorenzo felt alienated to his own team after last year competition with Rossi, he will find back a familiar face in the name of Gigi Dall’Igna, a colleague of Lorenzo before MotoGP. The lastest rumour state Lorenzo’s annual salary at Ducati around 10 million euros per year, which would explain why the Ducati-Lorenzo deal has often been said as impossible to refuse.