We first spoke about the creation of the Kagayama-Ducati team back in October, when news of the rider - Ryo Mizuno – and the JSB1000 and Suzuka 8 Hours events in which it would compete, first broke.

On Thursday 15 February, Yukio Kagayama and Ryo Mizuno came together with the President of the Motorcycle Federation of Japan at the Italian Embassy to official baptise the former rider’s Ducati-backed team.

Together with Ducati Corse, Kagayama and Mizuno set out with the aim of winning the JSB1000 series and being competitive at Suzuka, a race in which Ducati has never particularly stood out in the past.