He's moving to a project that
needs a lot of work. But some-
times, from the outside, it looks
like one thing, but then inside, it's
another."
"He's a smooth rider, so
normally, this is the type of rider
who is quite sensitive," said
Joan Mir of his potential future
teammate. "Not one that brakes
like an animal, who doesn't care
about the bike. So, he probably
understands some things."
The VR46 Ducati team has
been supportive of the move.
Asked about the situation, Team
Manager Pablo Nieto said, "Our
aim has always been to train our
riders to be ready for a factory
team." Presented with this situ
-
ation in Malaysia, VR46 Team
Director Uccio Salucci had a list
of names to replace the Italian,
which included Fermin Aldeguer,
Alonso Lopez and Tony Arbolino.
In the end, it appears most likely
three-time Moto2 race winner Al
-
deguer will step up to fill Marini's
seat for 2024.
Neil Morrison
VOLUME ISSUE NOVEMBER , P
Rahal
Ducati Moto
Announce
Riders For
2024
U
nder the guidance of for-
mer WorldSBK Champion
Ben Spies, the newest team in
the MotoAmerica Supersport
paddock, Rahal Ducati Moto,
will field former international PJ
Jacobsen and rising star Kayla
Yaakov for the 2024 season.
Jacobsen returns to the class
after finishing third in the 2023
MotoAmerica Superbike Cham
-
pionship on the Tytler's Racing
BMW M 1000 RR. Jacobsen is
also a former runner-up in the
WorldSSP Championship and
2019 MotoAmerica Supersport
Championship.
"When I heard about the pos-
sibility of [Rahal Ducati Moto]
coming to the paddock, my eyes
lit up because they run such a
professional team in car racing,
and they will also have a great,
professional team in motorcycle
racing," Jacobsen said. "It's great
for our sport to have people like
this involved, and again, I'm very
honored to get the call from
them to be one of the riders to
fight for wins and a champion
-
ship."
Yaakov is one of the champi-
onship's hottest prospects and
scored a debut podium in only
her second MotoAmerica Su-
persport race weekend in New
Jersey. Yaakov also became the
first female to win a MotoAmer
-
ica race at The Ridge Motors-
ports Park in 2022.
"I am extremely excited to be
joining the Rahal Ducati Moto
team for the 2024 MotoAmerica
Supersport season," said Yaa-
kov. "Being a part of a team with
such an iconic backing is a privi-
lege, not only with one of the
most prolific motorcycle brands
in the world, but also with the
Rahal family. Also, having a
world champion like Ben Spies
in our corner is such an honor.
After talking to him for several
years, coming together in this
team is going to be huge for my
progression in this sport."
CN
PJ Jacobsen and rising star Kayla Yaakov will make up the
Supersport Rahal Ducati Moto Team in MotoAmerica.
