The Ducati MotoGP Team and the Desmosedici GP9 were officially presented to the public and the press during Wrooom 2009, the event that takes place every January as an opener to Ducati Corse’s racing calendar.

The team officially welcomed Nicky Hayden, Casey Stoner's new team-mate, with whom he shares many things, starting with English as a common language – although Nicky assures the team he will immediately start to learn Italian. The two riders have a similar personal background, both born and raised in small towns in the country, and they both began their motorcycling careers by riding dirt track as young children. Casey and Nicky also share the same motto,“never ever give up", and in this way marry perfectly with the spirit of the Ducati team that will once again confront the 2009 MotoGP season with the aim to fight for the world title. The bike that Casey and Nicky will ride during this challenging season has also undergone some interesting changes.

The Desmosedici GP9 is characterised by a major change in the chassis, with the switch from the traditional Ducati steel trellis chassis with a carbon fibre frame that brings the upper part of the engine up to the level of the steering column. The trellis frame has been very successful, both in Superbike where it remains, and in MotoGP, and so is clearly a very effective design but the engineers decided to take another step forward with a system that was first approved by official test rider Vittoriano Guareschi and then by the factory riders, as a way to address specific needs with regard to the MotoGP bike.
Among the other updates on the GP9 one of the most relevant is an evolution of the engine management system, with a new combination of airbox and mapping that should provide a flatter power curve and improve rideability, as well as improving outright power. New radiators have also been introduced and the wiring of the electronics is now more accessible for the mechanics. The continuous research and development forms part of the philosophy of Ducati, and the constant close links to racing has allowed for the development of a deep synergy between the work carried out on the race bikes and the creation of the production bikes.

This is one of the main reasons why racing is such an important activity for Ducati: it offers the opportunity to directly transfer the precious know-how obtained during the development of the race bikes to the production of the road bikes. A significant part of the investment in racing is covered by the contributions made by the sponsors, who Ducati would like to thank for their fundamental support, by the television rights and by the licensed products.