Niccolò Canepa will once again substitute for injured rider Sylvain Guintoli at the ninth round of the Superbike World championship at Laguna Seca, confirmed by Andrea Dosoli.
"Sylvain has told us that he's not yet 100% and Canepa has already ridden the Yamaha at Misano. It's the right choice. In this way, Guintoli will have time over the long summer break (the championship doesn't resume until the 18 September in Germany) to completely recover from his injury".
There is one question though, a legitimate one... it's not that the Frenchman, married with four kids, no financial worries and a world title already in the bag, is thinking about retiring perhaps...?
"We hope not! - replies Dosoli without hesitation - he's said nothing like that to us...".
Remember that there are a couple of good MotoGP guys still on the market in the form of Eugene Laverty and also Stefan Bradl, both of whom are also in touch with Ducati.