shell Extends Motogp Participation
The Ducati Corse factory racing team has extended it technical partnership with British multinational oil and gas company Shell.
The deal between Shell and the Italian motorcycle-manufacturing company will now run until 2027 and continues to focus on its MotoGP team which recently won the 2022 MotoGP Constructors’ Championship and Riders’ title with the Italian Francesco Bagnaia.
The partnership, which originally began in 1999 when Ducati was racing in the FIM Superbike World Championship, marks 24 years of collaboration and 20 years in the FIM MotoGP World Championship, since the Italian team joined in 2003.
The Desmosedici GP racing bikes of Ducati Corse will continue to use a bespoke Shell V-Power race fuel formulation as well as a bespoke blend of Shell Advance Engine Oil with Shell’s PurePlus Technology.
As part of the partnership renewal, Shell and Ducati will also collaborate on preparations for MotoGP’s new era of more sustainable fuels, which begins in 2024. Development for these fuels, which must be 40% non-fossil origin from 2024 and aim at 100% by 2027, will be a key area of focus for the Shell and Ducati teams.
Commenting on the partnership renewal, Sabrina Qu, Vice President Global Lubricants Marketing at Shell, said, “The extension of our technical partnership with Ducati until 2027 signals our commitment to the Ducati Corse team to provide them with technical support as MotoGP moves towards a more sustainable future.
“Motorsport is the ultimate testbed for our technology, providing Shell with valuable insights into the performance of our products, whilst allowing them to test formulations to match the future sustainability ambitions of both Shell and Ducati. This in turn will continue to benefit Shell Advance and Ducati customers around the world, both on the track and on the road, as the technical partnership continues to develop.”
Ducati Corse Sporting Director, Paolo Ciabatti, added, “It gives us great satisfaction to announce the extension of Ducati’s multi-year agreement with Shell until 2027. Last year was the most successful season ever for Ducati Corse since the start of our fuels and lubricants technical partnership with Shell in 1999, and we are delighted to be able to enter a third decade of collaboration with them.
“It is also thanks to the vital contribution of technically advanced partners like Shell that Ducati is able to achieve success in such a technically challenging championships like MotoGP and WorldSBK, where every little performance detail counts. With this strong support behind us we are confident that we can continue to obtain excellent results in the future.”
