The Ducati MotoGP team has signed a sponsorship agreement with lifestyle clothing brand Diesel. The deal will see Diesel’s logos placed on the team’s two bikes during the 2011 and 2012 MotoGP seasons as well as on the riders’ race suits.

Renzo Rosso, president and founder of Diesel, said of the deal: “I’ve always been a Ducati fan. I am proud of the appreciation that the brand has gained all over the world, both in terms of design and performance. This season in particular is extraordinary. With the arrival of Valentino Rossi, the association between our brands is perfectly in line with our ‘Only the Brave’ philosophy.”

The 2011 season sees multiple world champion Rossi, perhaps Italy’s most popular sporting champion, join the Italian team after seven years with Yamaha. Rossi, who made his public debut for the team this week at a Malboro promotional event at an Italian ski resort, will race alongside 2006 world champion Nicky Hayden.

“To be joined by a ‘Made in Italy’ icon like Diesel, and to have the personal support of a superfan like Renzo Rosso, can only bring additional motivation and credibility to the Ducati Malboro Team and its great riders.”

Rossi, meanwhile, speaking at the promotional event in Madonna di Campliglio, made his first official comments as a Ducati rider on Tuesday. “I count on being in decent form for the first race of the season in Qatar on March 20th and then I’ll be 100 per cent in April,” he said, referring to his recovery from a shoulder injury suffered during an injury-riddled 2010 season

Source: SportsPro