Ducati is delighted to announce that Shell Advance’s technical partnership with Ducati has been extended until the end of the 2013 season. The extended relationship will ensure the continued development of tailored Shell Advance lubricant and Shell V-Power fuel for the Desmosedici bikes of the Ducati Marlboro Team. Shell Advance will also continue as the first-fill lubricant of every Ducati bike that leaves the factory in Bologna. Shell has enjoyed an extremely productive and successful relationship with Ducati Corse, first in World Superbikes and then accompanying the Bologna-based team when it moved to MotoGP in 2003. Since then, the partnership has won 31 races, one Manufacturers’, one Teams’ and one Riders’ Title in MotoGP and six Riders’ Championships and nine Constructors’ Championships in World Superbike. Traci Alford, Shell Lubricants Global General Manager (Marketing): “Shell and Ducati have enjoyed a very successful technical partnership over the past 11 years and in that time both the Shell and Ducati products have gone from strength to strength. Shell Advance is the lubricant of choice for Ducati on the track as well as the road and also for consumers around the world. Ducati also uses Shell V-Power fuel. With this renewed commitment, we will continue to work towards delivering increased responsiveness and performance on the racetrack by developing the most advanced motorcycle lubricants in the world.” Filippo Preziosi, Director General, Ducati Corse: “Ducati is thrilled to be continuing its relationship with Shell as a key technical partner both in MotoGP and in the road bike factory. We will build on the performance advantage that Shell Advance lubricants and Shell V-Power fuels bring to our bikes. In turn, we want this to mean greater success for the team and our road-going products.” Michael Knaak, Project Leader, Shell Advance Technical Partnership with Ducati: “The work done by our engineers for the MotoGP race bikes alongside Ducati is the perfect opportunity to develop and test our lubricants in a variety of climates under many different conditions. The commercially available Shell Advance Ultra has almost the same performance package as the race oil, which means that the consumer has access to almost the same technology as the Ducati MotoGP team.”