Hofmann to replace injured Gibernau.

Pramac d'Antin rider Alex Hofmann will replace the injured Sete Gibernau on the Ducati Marlboro machine for the eighth round of the 2006 MotoGP World Championship in Assen, Holland.

"I'm excited and so happy! Having the possibility to race on the official Ducati Desomosedici is an unbelievable opportunity and I will give one hundred percent to take advantage of it the most I can," smiled Hofmann, "I know this motorcycle well, I also know the evolution level of the Bridgestone tyres that I developed until the Valencia GP of the 2005 Championship, with which I had a good feeling that I hope to get back from the first laps I will make in Assen. I'm very motivated and I want to make something good. In our world, this kind of agreement doesn't happen very often and I want to thank everybody for their confidence, which I hope to reciprocate giving the maximum. I also have a special thought for Sete Gibernau to whom I wish to get well at the soonest and in the best way possible."

The Spanish rider broke his collar bone during the frightening turn one crash last Sunday in Spain and his return will depend on how quickly he can recover from the injury. Gibernau underwent an operation to fix his fractured left collarbone; the operation was carried out by Dr Xavier Mir and Dr Ignacio Ginebrera. They have replaced the metal plate that was already present in his collarbone from a previous incident with a new titanium one. Gibernau is expected to need three to five weeks to recover before returning to the track.

With Hofmann taking Gibernau's place that leaves a vacancy in the Pramac D'Antin team which will now be filled by Spanish rider Ivan Silva. Silva already rides for Luis d'Antin's team which competes in the Spanish Extreme Championship. "I didn't expect it and it has really been a great surprise!" said Silva. "Having the opportunity to make a race with the Ducati Desmosedici GP06 'Sat' of the team Pramac D'Antin Moto GP is simply fantastic. Besides, I already know the team very well, racing in the Extreme category of the Spanish Championship with them, and I'm really happy to get the chance to make this experience with them. I would like to thank everybody for having given me this opportunity, and I hope not to disappoint anybody!" he concluded.

The Ducati Marlboro team have expressed their thanks to the Pramac d'Antin MotoGP Team for releasing Hofmann and therefore allowing them to race both Desmosedici GP6 machines at the imminent race in the Netherlands.

Loris Capirossi, Gibernau's team-mate who also got caught up in the crash is undergoing physiotherapy to get back in shape as soon as possible is already on his way to Assen. He was kept in overnight for observation on Sunday at Catalunya General Hospital, but has returned to Monte Carlo with his physiotherapist Roberto Brusi, immediately getting down to work with a massage therapy aimed at eliminating as quickly as possible the effects of the bruising Capirossi received during the horrific first corner incident at Barcelona.

"That was a big crash but luckily I got off quite lightly," commented Capriossi. "I received a nasty blow to the chest, which is still bothering me. My physiotherapist Roberto has been with me all the time and we immediately began to work on rehab, with a series of massages to help the bruising go down. I'd like to thank the Clinica Mobile and Dr Costa, whose assistance as always has been absolutely priceless. I'm not yet one hundred percent fit but the important thing is to get back on the bike as soon as possible and see how it goes: I'm going to Assen with even more fighting spirit than usual!"

Livio Suppo, Ducati MotoGP project leader, expressed his thoughts on the incident: "I am relieved to see that the consequences of last Sunday's crash are being resolved relatively easily. Loris is undergoing rehabilitation and is now on the way to the Netherlands in his usual determined frame of mind. Sete has just come out of the operating room and the doctors confirmed that the operation was successful. We are very sorry that he has to miss the next two GPs, but it could have been worse so we must breathe a sigh of relief and hope that Sete completely recovers as soon as possible. I would like to thank Alex Hofmann, Luis D'Antin, Paolo Campitoti, all the Pramac D'Antin MotoGP Team and their sponsors for the availability they have shown towards us. Although the Assen race comes just six days after the incident at Barcelona, we will now be in a position to line up with both of our bikes."