Copyright 2001, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Former Ducati General Manager Massimo Bordi has taken a management position at a tractor factory in Milan and his departure from Ducati was not entirely voluntary, according to sources deep within Ducati.

Bordi, who proved his worth as General Manager when he kept Ducati afloat in the difficult days of 1997 and 1998 immediately after its takeover by Texas Pacific Group, was recently passed over for promotion to CEO in favor of accountant Carlo DiBiagio, a common ploy used to motivate an unwanted excutive to leave. Bordi’s former position at Ducati, General Manager, has now been eliminated.

But why would Ducati want to purge the man who designed the original Desmoquattro and was behind the new Testastretta? Sources close to Ducati and Bordi said that Bordi was the only top man left who was an old-school, nuts-and-bolts motorcycle enthusiast, and that Bordi, an engineer as well as an enthusiast, had increasingly clashed with the marketeers and businessmen who now populate the upper echelons of Ducati management.

Bordi could not be reached for comment prior to post time. An announcement of his new position with the tractor manufacturer is expected next month.