The world champion teams of the America’s Cup, Emirates Team New Zealand and MotoGP, the Ducati Lenovo Team have held a joint act of brotherhood at the base of the New Zealand team. In this meeting, the CEO of Emirates Team New Zealand, Grant Dalton, served as master of ceremonies, showing several of the members of the Ducati Lenovo Team and Dorna Sports expedition the facilities located in the Port of Barcelona.
This event took place within the framework of the Monster Energy GP of Catalonia that will be held this weekend in Montmeló. Various personalities attended, such as Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna Sports, Pecco Bagnaia, current MotoGP world champion, Roger Torrent, president of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, and Gigi Dall’Igna, sports director of the Ducati Lenovo Team.
Pecco Bagnaia, Ducati Lenovo Team rider and current MotoGP world champion, who exchanged jerseys with Peter Burling, Emirates Team New Zealand skipper and two-time America’s Cup champion, after a brief tour of the base in which they were able to see the AC75 ‘Te Rehutai’, the great boat with which they won in Auckland in 2021.
After the exchange of garments, Bagnaia has been invited to board the AC40 ‘Te Kakahi’ with which those from Oceania are preparing their participation in the preliminary regatta that will be held in Vilanova i la Geltrú from September 14 to 17.
Several members of the team Dorna Sports and Ducati Lenovo Team They have been able to follow the action from a support boat watching the fast maneuvers carried out by the New Zealanders accompanied by the Italian pilot who was able to see first-hand how these boats manage to fly over the water thanks to the ‘foils’ (hydrofoils).
Bagnaia spoke about this experience aboard the AC40 ‘Te Kakahi’. “It’s totally different to the bike and it’s amazing. You fly over the water and it feels like it’s done in a very clean way, you have to find the right angle at all times to be in line with the wind to get more speed. I was able to feel the G forces and it’s been a lot of fun”, commented the Italian.
Grant Dalton, sailing legend and CEO of Emirates Team New Zealand, He also expressed himself. “As Defender of the America’s Cup, it is an honor to welcome a world champion like Pecco and a historic entity like Ducati Corse to our facilities. His official Ducati Lenovo team has become a benchmark and a formidable competitor in such a demanding event like the MotoGP World Championship”, highlighted the New Zealander.
Finally, Gigi Dall’Igna He spoke about the similarities that exist between both disciplines and what unites them. “It is really gratifying to see how two worlds a priori as distant as the America’s Cup and the MotoGP World Championship have so many things in common. Especially, technologically, in terms of materials and other aspects such as aerodynamics.”
He also highlighted how important this act of brotherhood had been between two entities that are leaders in their respective sports. “It has been an incredible experience to have been able to share this journey from champion to champion with a structure like Emirates Team New Zealand”, concluded the sports director of the Ducati Lenovo Team.
