Ducati Corse hosted a double 2023 launch on Monday as MotoGP and WorldSBK came together to unveil their championship defending campaigns.

Both MotoGP Champion Pecco Bagnaia and his WorldSBK title-winning colleague Alvaro Bautista have opted to run the #1 plate for the coming challenge with respective teammates Enea Bastianini and Michael Rinaldi alongside for the ride.

The ‘Campioni in Pista’ event took place at the northern Italian ski resort of Madonna di Campiglio, Trentino with both the Desmosedici GP23 and Panigale V4R colours unveiled. Monster Energy the most notable addition to the GP livery as both teams retain their previous Lenovo and Aruba.it title partners.

“My winter break was shorter than usual because of all the commitments after winning the World Championship, but now I am charged up and eager to start the season,” Bagnaia confirmed. “I have missed the Desmosedici GP and my team, and I can’t wait to get back on track.

“I could not decide whether to continue using the number 63 or switch to the number 1, and in the end, I decided on the latter. Seeing it on the bike is beautiful, and now my goal will be to do everything to keep it.

“It won’t be easy because I expect even tougher competition than last year, with many rivals ready to fight for the title: however, I am aware that I have the best bike and team to aim high again in 2023. Thanks again to all of Ducati and my team! I am ready to resume our adventure together.”

“We have a new challenge ahead of us,” Bautista added. “After a fantastic season in which we won with Ducati in both Superbike and MotoGP, 2023 will inevitably be a difficult year.

“Racing with the number 1, in fact, means that our objective can only be one: to win.

“We’ll have a lot of pressure but at the same time we’ll have to keep calm, try to work with high concentration but also with serenity. We’ll have a new bike and even if it won’t be extremely different from the 2022 one, the work that we’ll be able to do before the first race is crucial: we have to fix all the details that will allow us to get the best performance.

“I’d also like to address a thought to all the Ducatistas: I’m very proud of all our fans who followed us last season, and I hope that with the result we’ve achieved, in 2023 there will be even more of them supporting us at circuits all over the world. I am a Ducatista and I feel lucky to be able to defend the colours of the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team.”