Ducati’s test rider Michele Pirro will race at Mugello as a wild card, making it three Desmosedici GP15’s on the grid for the Italian GP.

The Italian, who hasn't raced since Valencia last year, is hopeful that he can build on the success of his teammates to be competitive in his first GP of the season. In 2014 he took part in six races in total, with a best placed finish of ninth at Valencia, although the Italian did manage to finish seventh at Mugello in 2013, when he was substituting for the injured Ben Spies.

Pirro has 81 GP’s to his name (34 x MotoGP™, 18 x Moto2™, 29 x 125cc) although he has only tasted victory once, in the Moto2™ race at Valencia in 2011.

Michele Pirro:

“I am very pleased to do my first wild-card race of the year at Mugello, and it’s also really exciting for me to race for the first time with the GP15. In five races the new Desmosedici has already scored five podiums, proving to be very competitive and so it’s a big responsibility for me, but with the Ducati Test Team we have always done a good job on the bike’s development and so I am confident we can obtain a good result.”