Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1504789
INTERVIEW I MOTOAMERICA ROAD RACER XAVI FORES P94 Where are you going to live? I don't know yet. Maybe close to the team in Pennsylvania. They have a house. They have the facility for me for training, bikes and everything. So, the easiest way for me will be that. How are your thoughts on the Panigale V2? You obviously gel with it very well. For sure, I'm happy. I always felt, even in the past, I was super strong and comfortable on the V2. When I was in the Spanish championship, I won the title. Then in Germany I won the title. Then I moved to superbike with the same V2. I did podiums in superbike and was fighting of- ten for the top-five in the World Superbike for three years in a row. The confidence I always had with that bike was great. So, when I jumped on this bike for the first time, I felt very familiar. I know what we have to do on the bike in terms of improving in some areas. The biggest proof was this weekend [Laguna Seca] because yester - day the bike was not feeling really good. I was sixth and then during the afternoon and the night we worked a lot on the bike. This morning I had a very good feeling again on the bike, but unfortunately, I had a crash with a slow rider, and I couldn't finish the session. But the bike now is working well, so this means that the confidence I have with the bike is very high. What were your thoughts on racing at Daytona? I was enjoying a lot the experi- ence. I was good on the outfield [banking], but in the end my big- gest problem was in the infield. the De Naples [Ducati NYC owners] family are doing a critical job, and having Eldorado Ferracci is impor- tant who, despite turning 86 recently, he is one of the brightest and more passionate people I ever met in my life. It's a gift to have him with the team. Just how important is the American market to Ducati? In the past, it was either Italy or the United States where had been the big- gest market. Sometimes Italy, next year United States. I would say it is similar in size and obvious- ly both are important. Italy is obviously Ducati, we are based there. We can man- age directly the distribu- tion and the network. But the United States is the second largest market for Ducati, and we have a lot of potential. Is the plan to have two Superbikes on the grid next year? I think it's honestly com- plicated, in terms of budget. I think it might be easier to see two Supersports next year, but Superbike is up to the team. I think we're still looking together with the team to strengthen the technical side of it, but I think a second superbike next year will be maybe too much. Too early. Are there any possi- bilities for privateers to be part of a sub-program within Ducati? Like, if a guy goes and buys a V4 R to race in MotoAmerica, is there a way that they could be a satellite operation for Ducati? We spoke about this also with Bobby and the De Naples family. Obviously, we would like to see more Ducatis on the grid. It is true that our bike has a very advanced electronic package. Obviously to manage that package, you need someone with a special expertise. We do not have so many people that could do the job because everybody is so busy with World Superbike, MotoGP, the develop- ment team and so on. So the main obstacle would be to have a bike which is potentially capable of being on the podium and winning races, but without the right people especially to manage the electronics, it would be a challenge. The Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC program has seen riders such as Lorenzo Zanetti, Loris Baz and Danilo Petrucci (pictured) all fill the seat. Ducati's modern involvement in AMA Superbike/ MotoAmerica started with Kyle Wyman.