Ducati Corse's Paolo Ciabatti said this afternoon via e-mail that the down under rumors of Carlos Checa being drafted onto the factory '06 Ducati SBK squad, permeating from the recent Oz tests, are completely untrue.

"We never even considered it," Ciabatti said, curtly in reply to an e-mail requesting comment.

Ducati is in a pretty rare situation this year with an Italian rider with a fairly decent shot at the WSBK title. "Fonzi" Lanzi came on strong in 2005 and there's little doubt that many in Italy are hoping he can contend for the title--an Italian rider on an Italian bike. Even if Checa had ten million dollars, it's doubtful that Corse would bump Lanzi off the team.

The last credible rumor about Carlos Checa had him riding a Tech 3 machine in '06 MotoGP with Michelins paid for by the sanctioning body, Dorna, or, well, somebody else.

The Spanish propped up Checa's career for years when his results simply didn't support him having a factory GP ride. That said, Carlos Checa did have a very decent 2005 on the Ducati MotoGP bike and, as hard as it may be to hear from a US standpoint, if anyone deserves another shot in 2006 it's him.