Confirmation of Lorenzo's two-year deal with Ducati followed hot on the heels of an announcement on Monday from Yamaha signifying the end of the Spaniard's eight-year partnership with the Japanese manufacturer.

Speaking to Sky Italia, Ciabatti said that luring Lorenzo away from the marque with which he has won all three of his premier class titles wasn't difficult, and that an agreement was concluded speedily.

"I would say no," he replied when asked if it was hard to convince Lorenzo to join Ducati. "Clearly, this year all the contracts of the top riders were expiring, and with Lorenzo there had been a tentative approach some time ago.

"Like in all these cases, it was quite a complex negotiation process, but we managed to then reach an agreement fairly quickly.

"I believe in the strength of our bike, which this year has demonstrated itself to be very competitive, paving the way for this agreement."

Ciabatti added that Ducati expects Lorenzo to have his first run in red overalls in November's traditional post-season test at Valencia.

"It's conventional for all the manufacturers whose riders have chosen to leave for the following season to allow them to try out their new bikes," he said.

"We haven't spoken to Yamaha, but we expect to be able to get on track with him in the Valencia post-race test."

Second rider not yet decided

Ducati has not yet announced who Lorenzo's teammate will be in 2017, with the Bologna marque set to choose between its existing riders Andrea Dovizioso and Andrea Iannone.

Ciabatti stressed that no decision has been taken on which of the Italians will get to stay: "We haven't decided anything, our priority has been to conclude this agreement [with Lorenzo].

"Now it will take a bit of time to work out which of the two Andreas will stay in the team. It's an unpleasant decision because both are exceptional guys.

"We spoke to Jorge and he doesn't mind who his teammate will be. He respects both Dovizioso and Iannone and hasn't given us any indication [who he would prefer to stay]."