Aruba Ducati’s bizarre decision to give Marco Melandri a seat next to Chaz Davies on the works Panigale leaves Davide Giugliano out in the World Superbike wilderness and looking for a ride in 2017.

The Italian suffered with two apalling injuries last year but has recovered well to score podiums this season, the only thing missing - importantly - was a win.

It is believed the Roman is looking at a seat on the Barni Ducati or in the new Puccetti Kawasaki WSBK squad, which did have big plans for Melandri in 2017.

“I had a great time with Ducati. I learned a lot and was given a wealth of experience to draw upon, which is really important for a young rider. We also faced some difficult times, especially last year when I was badly injured, but we’ve always stayed close,” said Giugliano in a press release.

“We decided to take different paths, but our relationship remains strong: I’m still young, so we may rejoin forces in the future. I sincerely wish Melandri the best and would like to thank everyone in Ducati, especially Paolo Ciabatti, and Aruba.it for all their support. It’s been a great journey, which has yielded great results despite the fact that we would have liked to do more, but I’ll give my best until the end of the season to achieve bigger goals.”