Retired MotoGP rider Sete Gibernau will be back on the track next week when he carries out tests for his former team Ducati at the Mugello track in Tuscany, the Italian team announced on Thursday
''I'm honoured by this possibility that Ducati has given me. I'm very excited and I'm in perfect shape, even if it has been a while since I have been on a Grand Prix bike,'' the Spaniard said in a quote posted on the Ducati team website.
''It's just a test but I will give my absolute best. I can't wait to once again enjoy the feeling of bringing a MotoGP machine to its limit,''.
Gibernau, 35, ended his MotoGP career with Ducati after racing the 2006 season with the team.
During a visit to the Ducati paddock during last weekend's Catalunya Grand Prix he expressed an interest in getting back on the track and Ducati offered him an opportunity to take part in their development program.
''We were happy to see Sete so excited at the possibility of riding a MotoGP bike again and it was his enthusiasm that convinced us to organise this test together'', said Filippo Preziosi, the Ducati team principal.
Gibernau will test at Mugello June 17-19 and will be joining official test rider Vittoriano Guareschi for the session.
''The tests we carried out on our GP9 bike in Catalunya earlier this week gave us good feedback and having Sete and Vito testing alongside each other will allow us to carry out a wide range of more intensive tests on both out GP8 and GP9 machines,'' Preziosi added.
The GP8 bike is the one which world champion Casey Stoner, who replaced Gibernau at Ducati, and Marco Melandri are riding this season while the GP9 is the bike being developed for next year.
Gibernau's Grand Prix career ran from 1992 through 2006 during which he took part in 173 races collecting nine wins, 30 podium finishes and 13 pole positions.
Aside from Ducati, he also raced for Yamaha, Honda and Suzuki.
