Ducati North America announced that NCR will be its official racing team on the Canadian racing series. NCR and Ducati first collaborated the 1970s when Ducati wasn’t directly involved in competitions. Racing for team NCR-Ducati on the new 848 will be 2007 European Supertwins champion Valter Bartolini and Canadian Andrew Nelson.

“Ducati and NCR share a rich heritage and frequent collaboration. We are very excited about this latest racing venture, which combines the class-leading attributes of the new 848 Superbike and NCR’s undoubted talents in extracting maximum performance while minimizing mass,” says Michael Lock, CEO of Ducati North America. “We are also delighted to be working together in Canada, Ducati’s fastest-growing market in the world.”

The team will be managed by Joe Ippoliti, chief operating officer of NCR.

“It will be a unique opportunity for NCR and Ducati to work together again in campaigning the Canadian Thunder Championship. The 848 is a fantastic bike to base a race platform on and we look forward to putting together an exciting new team while developing new technology and parts for the 848,” says Ippoliti. “We invite Ducatisti to join us in the pits at the Canadian National series as well as select AMA and European events. We look forward to a successful season.”

The 2008 Parts Canada Superbike Championship season will begin May 22 to 25 at the Calabogie Motorsports Park in Calabogie, Ont., west of Ottawa.