Michele Pirro is confirmed as a Ducati "test rider" until 2026 : MotoGP

Jakarta - Ducati Corse has officially announced that Michele Pirro will remain a "test rider" for the factory team for the next three years, namely until the end of 2026.

Pirro, quoted from the official MotoGP website, Tuesday, said he was happy to be able to stay with the Ducati racing team to be part of the test team in the MotoGP class. 

"Most of my sporting career was with Ducati and I can't imagine myself in any other color than the red of the factory Borgo Panigale," said Pirro.

He continued, he had been with Ducati since 2013 or what he considered was a quite difficult and challenging year for Ducati Corse. However, he believes the hard work and solid cohesiveness of the team have made Ducati one of the strongest racing teams in the MotoGP event.

"I am very proud of what we have done together. I have worked with a new generation of Italian riders and always learn something new from them," said Pirro.

Apart from taking part in countless test sessions with the Ducati test team and racing in the Italian Superbike Championship with the Panigale V4 R, Pirro also appeared in various Grands Prix and next week will participate as wild card racer at the Italian GP at Mugello on June 9-11.

"As always, I will work hard to continue to contribute to the development of the Desmosedici GP and the Panigale V4. I thank Claudio, Gigi, Paolo and Davide and everyone who believed in me. Forza Ducati!" he added.

On the other hand, General Manager of Ducati Corse Luigi Dall'Igna said he was pleased to be working with Pirro again to help develop the technical and strategy of his racing team.

"We are delighted to be able to count on Michele for the next three years. Pirro started his job as a test rider eleven years ago, so no other rider knows our Desmosedici GP as well as he does," said Dall'Igna.

"It is also thanks to his valuable contribution that we were able to make our bike as competitive as it is today. The aim is to keep improving; being able to rely on Michele's great experience is definitely an asset in our development work."

Monaco Grand Prix : Charles Leclerc said Ferrari's performance was lagging behind its rivals in F1

Jakarta - Charles Leclerc said Ferrari's performance was quite behind its competitors in the 2023 Formula 1 season after finishing sixth at the Monaco Grand Prix last weekend and receiving a penalty which he regretted. 

"We have a lot of work to do to restore form because at the moment we are too far behind," said Leclerc, quoted from Formula 1's official website, Tuesday.

The racer from Monaco considered that there were too many problems during the race in his hometown, starting from mechanical problems, strategic mistakes, to collisions. His target to be on the podium in Monte Carlo was dashed because of the piling up problems.

Meanwhile, Leclerc was penalized three starting positions after being caught blocking the pace of McLaren driver Lando Norris during the qualifying session.

"Yes, after qualifying there was a three grid penalty and there was nothing I could do," said Leclerc.

Leclerc admitted that he really wanted to race in Monaco properly, however, there were penalties to the challenge of drastic weather changes, putting him under real pressure.

"The speed (of the car) was not good at that time. I mean, actually (the speed) was quite good (on) hard tires. It was good there, but nothing could be done (in other conditions)," said Leclerc.

Meanwhile, the penalty was against him because the narrow and winding streets of Monte Carlo offered few opportunities to catch up. Leclerc then gave a dismal assessment of Ferrari's current performance level.

"We are not happy with where we are," said Leclerc, as team-mate Carlos Sainz followed him to an eighth-placed finish.

Ferrari, on the other hand, leave Monaco sitting in fourth in the constructors' championship behind Mercedes, Aston Martin and Red Bull. While Sainz and Leclerc are sixth and seventh respectively in the championship or driver standings. 

Juventus reach a settlement agreement with the football authorities in the salary issue

Milan: Italian football authorities announced today, Tuesday, that they had reached an agreement to settle a legal dispute with Juventus in a case related to alleged irregularities in the payment of players’ salaries.

According to the agreement, Juventus will pay 718,000 euros ($790,000) in fines and will not file any appeals in the ongoing sporting cases.

The settlement comes after Juventus were deducted ten points from its balance earlier this season due to another issue related to the financial accounts of player transfers. The settlement did not include the deduction of any additional points.