New Ducati title sponsor Aruba takes on team role

The official Ducati World Superbike Team will now be called the ‘Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team’ as Italian web hosting and cloud services company Aruba joins with the existing factory Ducati set-up in a new three year deal, and not just as title sponsor.

According to the official Ducati Corse press release “…This is a partnership agreement that sees Aruba directly involved in the management of the official Ducati team as well as in the role of title sponsor.” The release goes on to explain that Aruba.it will “…be responsible for certain organizational aspects of the team and also, together with Ducati, for team communication and marketing activities.”

The existing riders Chaz Davies and Davide Giugliano, plus team logistics providers Feel Racing and Team Manager Serafino Foti will remain in place, with Ernesto Marinelli continuing as Ducati Corse Superbike Project Director and Technical Director of the team.

Aruba’s interests will be looked after at the tracks by recent WSB, WSS, BSB and AMA rider Luca Scassa, who hails from the hometown of Aruba, Arezzo in Italy. He will also be one of the team’s official test riders and there is even the possibility he will be able to take part in certain WSB events as a wildcard entry.

Scassa explained more about the new set-up, shortly after the official release came out, “My role will be the team representative for Aruba, and I will also be one of the test riders for Ducati,” said Scassa. “Aruba and I started to speak in June, I think, and they wanted to enter into the racing world. The decision was to be with Ducati in the Superbike World Championship. Aruba is the sponsor, and will be working together with the team. We will have the same structures as last year but we will be inside the actual team, on the management side. I will be at every race on track as the team representative and Aruba wanted me to be present. The company will have management of the marketing and business side of the team so they will have contact with sponsors and do a lot of things. They are part of the team, not just a sponsor.”

Stefano Cecconi, CEO of Aruba S.p.A, commented: “We are very proud of this partnership in which we have great faith, and that will allow us to manage, together with Ducati, an official team with two very competitive riders. We have taken the decision to enter the world of racing because it links in many ways to our world and shares some of the same fundamental pillars, such as the continuous quest for maximum performance and ever increasing reliability, and a constant focus on safety. We will take on this new challenge with the same commitment and with the same passion that we show our clients each day. This is why we have chosen our Data Centre IT1 in Arezzo, the symbol and heart of technological development for our group, as the setting for the official presentation of the team.”

On the technical side from Ducati the Panigale R has been heavily revamped to suit the new rules in 2015. Paddock observers and fans alike expect a jump in the already improving results of the official Ducati entry.