Agnelli family member Lapo Elkann wants to join the (German) bidding competition for Italian motorcycling company Ducati. Generally speaking Auto Edizione is not the source for cycling related news, but when it comes to (Italian) national pride and the involvement of an Agnelli we have no option. Lapo is known for controversial stories when it comes to cars and the international competition, but now he has showes a more lovable site of his. In an interview with Panorama Icon (yet to be released) Lapo admits that “I consider myself  a true partriot and I would certainly regret it if Ducati were to be sold to foreigners, to the wrong ones.”

With this Lapo obviously means in ‘the evil hands’ (cattive mani) of the ones related to Wolfsburg who recently have set their sights on the Bologna based outfit. A couple of weeks ago Elkann already expressed his German car industry thoughts. Ducati is the most iconic and prestigious ‘made in Italy’ brand according to lots of (non-) Italian fans and therefore should never be owned by a German party. At some stage Daimler also showed interest but according to the latest from Stuttgart this was not true. This means VW/Audi faces a paved road to a possible Ducati ownership, unless a deal can be made between Bologna and the Ferrari tailormade specialist. For this to happen though, Ducati needs to lower their asking price Lapo admitted. “What would I do if they (Ducati) would lower the asking price? In that case yes, then I think I would see myself making an offer.” Despite his fortunate position in the family, his offer will probably not stand against the German offer. In any case, tensions will surely rise.