From MotoGP files

Ducati announced that their launch for their new MotoGP motorcycle will take place on January 8th during the annual media ski meeting.

The GP8 will be officially unveiled at Madonna di Campiglio, where the Italian squad will be holding their annual event in conjunction with the Ferrari F1 team.

In 2008, Ducati will aim to defend the titles won after a dominant 2007 season led by their star pilot, Australian Casey Stoner.

Speaking of Stoner, the reigning MotoGP champion has ruled out following in the footsteps of rival Valentino Rossi and testing a Formula 1 car in the near future.

Motor Cycle News quoted him as saying "I'm not ready for this, because I've never really driven a car," as saying.

"I'll wait until I can drive a little bit more before I try a Formula 1 car. I don't want to jump in without any experience. I've driven karts a lot, but not really a performance car."

Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi is sure he can return to title winning form in MotoGP, even though he concedes he is facing the toughest rivals of his career at the moment.

"The rivals now are better than in the past," he said. "Biaggi and Gibernau were very strong riders, but today Stoner and Pedrosa are of a new generation and they are stronger."