Everything was done but everyone was just waiting for the official statement to really talk about it; Johann Zarco signs directly with Ducati to race with Reale Avintia for 2020 Season after a complicated 2019 where he was sacked from KTM in the middle of the season, with the French who was still able to compete from Phillip Island to Valencia due to Takaaki Nakagami’s operation.

Two times Moto2 World Champion had some options on the line, including coming back to Moto2 after Alex Marquez’s promotion to MotoGP alongside his brother in Honda HRC, with Zarco who initially tried to get a seat in Honda, but was not possible and he refused to become a Yamaha test rider for 2020, preferring waiting for a good opportunity to ride next season.

Being patient was the right choice as long as Johann received an offer from Reale Avintia even if he was not too sure about joining that project thinking it would have been not enough competitive next season, but then Gigi Dall’Igna and Paolo Ciabatti talked to him and they convinced him about the package and Zarco officially signed with Reale Avintia taking Karel Abraham’s place.

It would be really interesting then to see what it is going to happen next season, with the French who is surely aiming for a Factory bike and will try everything he could to beat the other Ducatis on track, starting from Danilo Petrucci, who has a one year contract with the Factory Team, but also Jack Miller and Francesco Bagnaia, who will try to rise up as well to get a Factory seat.