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Day one at Wrooom - MotoGP Press Ski Meeting
2008 was action-packed with a press conference attended by reigning World
Champion, Casey Stoner, and his new team mate, Marco Melandri, wearing the
official Ducati Marlboro Team gear for the first time. The Ducati Desmosedici
GP8 launch was set in the breathtaking scenery of Madonna di Campiglio in the
Trento Dolomites. The two riders ceremoniously broke an ice sculpture to reveal
the new bike in its 2008 livery and tomorrow, Ducati Corse CEO and General
Director Ducati Motor Holding, Claudio Domenicali, will talk to the press about
the bike's technical innovations.
The press conference began with Marco
Melandri revealing how excited he is to wear the Italian World Champion team
colours for the first time.
"I feel great in red!" He exclaimed. "I'm so
happy to have become part of the Ducati family. I'd dreamt of riding a Ducati
ever since I first saw one. When I tried on my new leathers yesterday, I felt
quite emotional. I'm aware of the big opportunity I have been given this year.
It's not going to be easy, but it will be exciting and I'm ready to commit
entirely to reward all those who wanted me to be here. I'm really impressed with
how people work at Ducati. Although they've already achieved the greatest goal,
winning the World Championship, they have continued to work relentlessly. After
my first tests, I gave feed-back to the engineers so that my bike could be
adjusted to match my requirements and now, I can't wait to hit the track again
to train for this season. As soon as we manage to fine-tune the bike we'll be
very competitive."
"This is such a wonderful event," said Casey Stoner
taking over from Melandri at the press conference table. "I'm happy to be here
although it meant celebrating my first wedding anniversary on a flight from
Australia! I hope to be able to have fun and do some skiing too, maybe
cross-country skiing. I don't want to run any risks snowboarding. This holiday
break after our latest test was just what I needed to unwind after a fantastic,
although extremely challenging season. I also needed to recover after my
shoulder injury from the Jerez tests. I feel much better now, although I'll only
know if I'm completely recovered when I get back in the saddle. I'm happy to
begin a new season with the same bike and the same team, it's a first for me
since I started to race. The feeling is just perfect with everyone at Ducati:
Claudio, Filippo, Livio and all of my team, I wouldn't change a thing. As for my
bike, I haven't suggested any big changes either, because we already had such a
competitive package. We are only going to work on a few details. Winning a World
Championship has taken a big weight off my shoulders: all my parents'
sacrifices, all the hard times in the past, it's all behind me now. This year,
I'll continue to work in order to try and repeat my performance of last year and
be even stronger and faster, but I'll be able to do that in a very different
spirit".
Tomorrow, the event schedule includes Claudio Domenicali's
meeting with the press to explain the technical innovations of the Desmosedici
GP8 in detail.
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