2019 Ducati Desmosedici GP19 MotoGP First Look

Ducati pulled the wraps off the motorcycle that it will contest the 2019 MotoGP World Championship on. Feast your eyes on the new and improved Desmosedici GP19 racer. Factory team riders Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci unveiled their racebike during a ceremony in the Swiss town of Neuchâtel.

The factory bikes are emblazoned with new sponsorship from Mission Winnow—a company affiliated with Philip Morris International, that among other things develops safer alternatives to smoking cigarettes.

"Racing has always been part of Ducati's DNA," Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali says. "The solutions and expertise gathered on track represent an asset that is directly tied to our product line, and the MotoGP project is crucial for us to produce models that are more performing, exciting and safe to ride for all our passionate fans."

“2018 was another important season for us in MotoGP, one that saw us grow and improve again—both from a technical and a sporting point of view—for the fourth consecutive season,” added Luigi Dall’Igna, Ducati Corse GM. “We were very competitive even on tracks that have traditionally been more difficult for us, and we achieved more victories and podiums overall compared with 2017. However, our direct competitors have also improved. We must do better and improve more than what we have done in recent years, bringing new ideas and evolutions to cover all the possible areas.”

The GP19 features a water-cooled 1,000cc V-4 engine that’s said to produce more than 250 hp, pushing it to a top speed of over 218 mph. Dry weight is listed at 346.1 pounds.

The 2019 Mission Winnow Ducati MotoGP team will make its debut on track the first week of February during the first official preseason test at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia.

Related: 2018 Ducati Monster 797 Review