Photos by Team GoEleven.
Lorenzo Baldassarri has signed on for a second season with Team GoEleven, staying aboard the independent Ducati squad’s Panigale V4-R in 2027 and extending a partnership that has quickly rebuilt the Italian’s career.
Currently sixth in the WorldSBK standings, the has repaid a gamble that looked like a long shot when GoEleven signed him for 2026 to replace Andrea Iannone.
“I had come from a difficult period where I lacked both confidence and results – having changed teams, bikes, and categories – but Go Eleven believed in me, and we achieved great things this year,” Baldassarri said. “I can’t wait to start another year together!”
The original hiring raised eyebrows at the time. Baldassarri’s only prior WorldSBK experience, a 2023 campaign with GMT94 Yamaha on the R1, ended 18th in the standings with a best finish of 12th. A return to WorldSSP for 2024 went no better, the rider struggling to re-adapt across stints on the Ducati Panigale V2 and the Triumph Street Triple 765 RS, with a best result of ninth. A move to MotoE followed, where he finished sixth in the electric series’ final season but ran consistently at the front, taking three podiums and losing Race 1 at Barcelona by just 0.037 seconds.
His 2026 return has been a different story. Baldassarri took his first WorldSBK podium with a third place result at the Phillip Island opener and added a second at Balaton Park. The two podiums were backed by six top-five results and a season spent regularly inside the top ten
“(Baldassarri) was a gamble I took at the start of the year – I believed in him from the very beginning, and he repaid that faith with one of our best-ever WSBK seasons,” said Gianni Ramello, Team GoEleven owner. “We couldn’t let him slip away after just one year or fail to renew his contract for the upcoming season.”
Become a Motorcycle.com insider. Get the latest motorcycle news first by subscribing to our newsletter.
Discover more from NAIRAVOICE.COM.NG
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
