The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team is pleased to announce that Italian rider Michael Ruben Rinaldi, will defend the colors of the Italian team with Scott Redding during the 2021 WorldSBK season with the official Ducati Panigale V4 R.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi was born in Rimini on December 21, 1995 and started racing with minimotos at the age of 7, winning the Italian championship in 2006. After winning the Italian Sport Production championship in 2011, he tackled his first international experience in the European Superstock 600 Championship in 2014, which he finished second in 2015. In 2016, Rinaldi rode the Ducati Panigale R of the Aruba.it Racing Team – Junior in the FIM SuperStock 1000 Championship, finishing sixth and triumphant the following year with the European title. With the Aruba.it Racing – Junior team, Michael Ruben Rinaldi also made his WorldSBK debut in the 2018 season, competing only in European races, then winning the full championship the following year with the Barni Racing team . In the current season, Rinaldi achieved his first success in WorldSBK with the Panigale V4 R of the Go Eleven team in Race-1 in Aragón, round which saw him on the podium also in the Superpole Race (P3) and in Race-2 (P2).
Stefano Cecconi (Aruba.it Racing Team Director – Ducati) :
« It is with great enthusiasm that we welcome Michael to our team. For us, this is a source of deep satisfaction as well as confirmation of the quality of the project that we undertook five years ago with our Junior team. Rinaldi was one of the great protagonists, achieving important results: The same results that we expect from him for next season. Many thanks to Chaz Davies for all the years we have spent together since, together with Aruba.it, we decided to undertake this fascinating adventure during which a deep bond of esteem and trust was created. The affection for the man and the driver will always remain intact and that is why we want to wish Chaz the best for the future, both inside and outside the circuits. »
Luigi Dall'Igna (General Manager of Ducati Corse):
« We are happy to welcome Michael Ruben Rinaldi to the official team. This year, Michael showed great competitiveness, crowned by the victory in Aragon, and he always fought for the first places. We believe that the time has come for him to join the official team and we are convinced that he has a bright future ahead of him. I would like to thank Chaz who, during these seven years, has been an excellent ambassador for our brand and has achieved very important results with us: 27 victories plus 59 other podiums and three consecutive world vice-championships. We will try to conclude our adventure together as best as possible during the next race weekend in Estoril. »
Michael Ruben Rinaldi:
« After an exciting journey with Ducati, joining the official team is an honor for me, as well as a confirmation of the quality of the work accomplished over the years. My first objective will be to repay the trust that has been placed in me and I can only do this through the results that I can obtain. For an Italian rider, riding with Ducati is an extraordinary feeling and I am sure that the passion of the people at Ducati will give me an extra boost. I would like to thank Stefano Cecconi and the Aruba family who have always believed in me, as well as Daniele Casolari, Serafino Foti and all of Feel Racing for supporting me over the years. A special thought to Claudio Domenicali, Gigi Dall'Igna and Paolo Ciabatti for having me participate in this new project. Finally, I would like to involve the Ramello family, Denis Sacchetti and all the guys from the Go Eleven team in a warm hug. Thanks to them, I was able to make an important qualitative leap which allowed me to achieve this fantastic objective. And of course, I would also like to thank my family for supporting me from the beginning, as well as Germano Bertuzzi whose support has been fundamental for me. I feel that I can promise everyone my greatest commitment with the aim of achieving great results together. »
