During last weekend’s Gran Premio d’Italia Oakley, Reale Avinita Racing Sporting Director Ruben Xaus spoke to motogp.com pitlane reporter Simon Crafar about the future of the Independent Ducati Team.
Avinita has been running a team in the premier class since 2012 and have become a household name in the MotoGP™ paddock, with Xaus happy with how his team are performing in 2019 - especially with the level of competition in MotoGP™ at an all-time peak.
“The competition is getting very strong, everything is much tighter. The teams are all official or semi-official and we are approaching that situation,” began the Spaniard, who rode in MotoGP™ in 2004 and 2005 with Ducati and Yamaha, picking up a podium on a GP4 at the 2004 Qatar GP.
“The owner of the team, Raul Romero, who has struggled his whole career to bring a team to the MotoGP class. Lately, the machinery works better and better and, for the first time, this team has the same bikes as Bagnaia, the two 18 spec bikes from Dovizioso and Lorenzo last year, and this has another value to make everything better and the team is really stepping up the situation.
“The team has two good riders and the competition is very strong. Our guys are always between 12th and 16th position, which is in front of the Suzukis sometimes, Aprilias, KTM’s supported team, so everything is really strong. We are much more focused. We are creating a real structure which will give us the chance to welcome a young rider in the future, hopefully very soon, so this will put us in a top 10 situation.”
So what are Reale Avintia Racing’s options for the next couple of seasons? A manufacturer close to Xaus’ heart – Ducati – are their first choice, with the team running Desmosedici machines in the premier class since 2014. But there are other potential possibilities, with Xaus confirming that Avinita are looking at “two or three” Moto2™ riders who could join their ranks in the near future.
“The first option is Ducati because we have a good relationship. I raced for them for a long time, so I know the DNA of Ducati and we are very comfortable with it. But, as always, there are situations going on in the paddock, other options are already on the table but for the moment we have a contract for two years, so let’s see what happens in the future.
“It’s clear that whoever we ride with it’s going to be really good material. Then securing whoever joins the team in the future as young talent, they will be with a good machine. Moto2 is in our point of view and there are two or three guys we are looking at and hopefully within two years we are going to have one on board.”
Tito Rabat and Karel Abraham currently sit on two points each so far this season, will either the Spaniard or Czech rider score more points at the Catalan GP in less than two weeks’ time?