From a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

DUCATI AND XEROX ANNOUNCE NEW WORLD SUPERBIKE PARTNERSHIP

Bologna (Italy), February 3rd, 2005 – Ducati Corse announced today that it will take part in the 2005 World Superbike Championship with a new title sponsor, Xerox. The announcement was made today during the international media launch of the team in the Ducati factory in Bologna, Italy.



The deal, which will initially run for two years, will see the team renamed Ducati Xerox Team. The partnership marks Xerox’s second year in World Superbike sponsorship. Xerox, who were introduced to the world of Superbike racing in 2004 with Stefano Caracchi’s satellite Ducati NCR team, are now aiming for the very top through their association with the Championship’s most successful protagonists.

The Ducati Corse factory team has dominated the sport in recent years, winning five of the last seven World Riders Championships. Ducati Xerox Team enters 2005 as the reigning champions in both Constructor and Rider Championships. Briton James Toseland and Frenchman Regis Laconi finished one-two last year with a total of 28 podium finishes including 10 race victories across the 11 round/22 race season.



Commenting on the sponsorship, Richard Wergan, Head of Marketing Communications for Xerox Europe said: “Ducati has a rich legacy of producing winning teams and bikes which perform to the highest standard. They also have a dynamic and unrivalled image, and so a Xerox partnership with a brand such as Ducati – both demonstrating technological innovation and high performance – is an extremely desirable one.

“World Superbikes is one of the most exciting and fastest growing motor sports in the world and sponsoring the number one team is highly appropriate for a market leader such as Xerox,” he said.

“World Superbike continues to be vitally important for Ducati and we have demonstrated that with our commitment over the years, even when the championship has been going through a less healthy period” declared Ducati Corse CEO Claudio Domenicali. “Now we are very pleased to welcome the return of our traditional competitors to the championship because it again offers us the possibility of showcasing our racing products against world-class opposition on a level playing-field.

“Racing is in Ducati’s DNA and World Superbike is essential for the development and evolution of our production bikes. When we race and win, we know that the spin-off from racing will eventually be felt throughout the entire Ducati production range.

“This year it gives me great pleasure to welcome the new partnership with Xerox, who become our new title sponsor. Xerox and Ducati are both leaders in their respective fields, both are internationally-renowned, highly successful and enthusiastic companies and we are sure that the new Ducati Xerox Team will be a force to contend with in the championship” he concluded.

The 2005 World Superbike Championship will be held over 12 rounds beginning in Doha, Qatar on February 26. The Championship will cross three continents before culminating at Magny Cours, France October 9. The first European race of the season will be at Valencia, Spain on April 24.