Thursday, August 19, 2010
Valentino Rossi joining Ducati motorcycles?
Ducati Motorcycles has confirmed that the seven-time World Champion, Valentino Rossi, will be riding for them after the Italian rider completes his contract with Yamaha at the end of the MotoGP season.
Rossi, who already holds the record of 78 wins for the 500cc/MotoGP segment, needs one more title to tie Giacomo Agostini's record of eight premier-class championships and is 18 race wins short of Agostini's all time record of 122 grand prix wins in all grand prix classes.
"Valentino Rossi, the great Italian motorcycle rider, confirmed recent rumors that he will be joining Ducati in 2011".
Rossi is the reigning MotoGP champion. The last time Valentino Rossi switched teams was in 2004, when he moved from Repsol Honda, then the best team on the grid, to Yamaha, a middling team. Rossi immediately won the championship in 2004 and brought Yamaha back to prominence, winning four titles with the team.
(Ducati Racing and ValentinoRossi.com)
Danica Patrick finished 27th — and four laps down — in the Nationwide Series race at Michigan International Speedway on Saturday.
Larry Dixon ended the N.H.R.A.’s regular season with his ninth win of the year, beating Cory McClenathan in the finals of the Lucas Oil N.H.R.A. Nationals in Brainerd, Minn. “I’ve had seasons where I haven’t won one race, so to win nine is overwhelming,” Dixon said.