Ducati Project Manaager Livio Suppo steps down

LIVIO SUPPO LEAVES THE DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM. NEW MANAGEMENT OF THE 2010 SQUAD IS ANNOUNCED

Borgo Panigale (Bologna, Italy), 5 November 2009 -- The last race of the 2009 MotoGP season will also be the last race in Ducati Marlboro Team colours for Livio Suppo, Ducati's MotoGP project manager. The Italian manager will leave Ducati to embark on a new professional adventure.

In Ducati since 1999, Suppo was involved in this challenging and ambitious project from the very beginning, contributing with his intuition, perseverance and enthusiasm to the world title victory of 2007 and to the many podiums and successes that have characterised the life of the Ducati Desmosedici from its debut in 2003 up until today.

"Livio has meant a great deal to Ducati and also to me personally; he has been a loyal and valuable colleague but above all a great friend," commented Claudio Domenicali, General Director of Ducati. "We are very sorry that he has decided to leave the company but, in light of his correctness, professionalism and the great contribution he has made to the growth and success of the MotoGP project and the Ducati brand, we can only offer him our very best wishes as he takes on a new professional challenge. This is, however, also one of those moments in which we can rethink our organization in order to further improve, and this is what we have done in defining the 2010 team's direction. The management of the Ducati Marlboro Team will be entrusted to, and reinforced by, two new managerial figures. Alessandro Cicognani, currently marketing manager for the Ducati Corse Division, will be responsible for the MotoGP project and alongside him, Vittoriano Guareschi, already the test rider for Ducati, will undertake the role of Team Manager, bringing to the squad a wealth of knowledge and experience that he has gained through being a professional rider and, most recently, a test rider."

-credit: ducati