Nobody knows who’ll ride Factory Ducati V4 in 2019, but if the renewal with Chaz Davies and the deal with Alvaro Bautista are confirmed, there will be no room for Marco Melandri and Michael Rinaldi. 2017 European Superstock 1000 Champion is contesting European WorldSBK round with Ducati Aruba.it Junior Team and so far he’s scored several top-10 finishes (best result: sixth in Brno Race 2) and showed some speed in the first half of the race.
The youngster from Ravenna wants to stay in his current team, obviously, but at the moment he doesn’t care too much of it: “I don’t know what to expect, but I know there are still two rounds to race (Portimao and Magny Cours, ed) and my goal is to do well there. This is my third year with Ducati Aruba.it and together we’ve grown a lot and won a title. Both me and the team want to extend this collaboration, but there are some factors they have to consider and now there’s no certainty about 2019.”
And where would he go, if he’s out of World Superbike? Here’s Rinaldi’s answer: “I haven’t thought about it yet. I trust the people who help me and now I’m focused on the last 2018 races. If I’m not confimed by Ducati, I will start considering some alternatives, but now I want to finish the season the best way I can, then we’ll see.“