MotoGP – Preview Valencia – Niccolò Canepa still out, Espargarò still in his place

He hoped for it until the last moment but Niccolò Canepa, rider of the Pramac Racing Team, was forced to give up racing in the last round of the MotoGP World Championship after the injury suffered in the Australian Grand Prix last 16 October. After the skin transplant surgery on his right arm which took place at the Melbourne hospital, the Italian driver has already been forced to miss the race in Malaysia, but after today's medical checks the doctors deemed it appropriate to rest the young driver again to prevent the wound from reopening. Consequently, the Pramac Racing Team chose to replace him again with Aleix Espargarò; the Catalan rider will thus have the opportunity to race his first Spanish MotoGP grand prix after the three previous races held in Indianapolis, Misano and Sepang.

Paolo Campinoti – Team Principal Pramac Racing Team

“We are really sorry that Niccolò will not be able to race with us in this last Grand Prix of the season. Last year he did well during the winter tests on this track and could have achieved a good result. We thank him for the work he has done this year and wish him a successful future whatever path he follows. He is a very talented boy who needs to accumulate experience to return to the highest levels. In his place we will have Aleix Espargarò: in all the races he has run with us this year he has given us good performances and we are confident he can do so again this weekend in Valencia."

Niccolò Canepa – Pramac Racing Team rider

“I'm very sad that I won't be able to go on track this weekend in Valencia. I really wanted to be able to race this last Grand Prix with my Team to try to end the season with a good result. I thank the Pramac Racing Team, Paolo Campinoti and Ducati Corse for this fantastic experience that they made me live. Now I will have to think about my health to be at my best as soon as possible and get back on track whatever my next sporting adventure is."

Mika Kallio – Pramac Racing Team rider

“We return to Valencia after the first tests aboard my Ducati Desmosedici GP9 Sat from last year. Precisely on that occasion I had recorded very interesting times and we hope to be able to repeat ourselves also during this weekend. In this final phase of the season we did not achieve what we deserved and we are confident that we can do it here. I'm very sorry for Niccolò: I hope he can recover soon to continue his still young career."

Aleix Espargarò – Pramac Racing Team rider

“First of all I want to wish Niccolò Canepa to recover as soon as possible: I hope he can get back on track soon. This will be a weekend full of emotions for me: it will be my first Grand Prix as a MotoGP rider in Spain. I will race in front of my fans and hope not to disappoint them. In the previous races with Pramac Racing I did quite well but I would really like to improve to compete for better positions. Of course it takes time, I am the rider with the least experience in this category and I still have a lot to learn."

Pramac Racing