Australian rookie Casey Stoner will replace Spaniard Sete Gibernau at Ducati for next season's MotoGP campaign, the team has confirmed.
The 21-year-old Stoner, who has impressed in his debut season on the 990cc bikes, signed a one-year contract with the Italian team with an option for a further season and will partner Loris Capirossi.
"I am delighted to welcome Casey to Ducati," managing director Claudio Domencali said in a statement.
"He is a very promising rider, with talent and determination in abundance."
Gibernau, the 2003 championship runner-up, missed three races earlier in the season after breaking his collarbone in a crash at Barcelona in June and will also miss the season-ender at Valencia on Oct. 29 after undergoing surgery following another crash at Estoril earlier this month.
Stoner, seventh in the title standings, has seen his stock rise at the LCR Honda team in his rookie year, with the highlight coming in April when he finished second at the Turkish GP behind Marco Melandri.
"It's a great privilege for me to be Loris Capirossi's team mate. I watched him race before I started my career and now it's a real honour to be in the same team as him on the same bike."
The current 990cc machines will be replaced by 800cc bikes for the 2007 season.
