Danilo Petrucci will remain with the factory Ducati MotoGP squad until the end of the 2020 season and has targeted a top-three championship finish in 2019.

The Italian's place was under threat until he took an historic maiden win at Mugello a couple of weeks ago, and his contract extension has been seen as a formality since.

"I'm very happy to continue with Ducati for another year. It was my goal ever since the beginning of this new chapter, because we immediately found great chemistry with the team," said Petrucci.

In this first half of the season we were able to progressively increase our competitiveness, taking two podiums and an unforgettable win.

"To renew our collaboration before the summer break makes me even more serene and confident about the future. Now I simply want to stay focused and continue to improve as a rider to achieve even better results on track. We're third in the Championship, and we want to finish the season within the top three."