Ducati rolls out its ‘09 GP effort in the usual style.

As a side note, Nicky Hayden expresses  relief to have moved out of HRC (Honda) to weather the global economic downturn.  You certainly wouldn’t have heard anyone equate Ducati with recession-proof economics while ownership was being tossed around the globe between the troubled Cagiva and the dispassionateTexas Pacific Group, but record sales and a series of hit models seem to have Ducati Corse ready to contest the bottomless money pit known as MotoGP for 2009.  Recent moves to limit testing and tire expenses certainly favor a small player, but ultimately it comes down to sponsorship and whether a company is willing to put serious dollars on a square foot of advertising that flashes past distant cameras at 200 mph.