page_title: Sete Gibernau
section_title: Return to Ducati (2009)
hierarchical_section_title: Sete Gibernau / Career / Comeback / Return to Ducati (2009)
caption_attribution_description: English: Ángel Nieto, posing next to the Grupo Francisco Hernando Ducati of Sete Gibernau before the start of the 2009 Spanish Grand Prix.
context_page_description: Manuel "Sete" Gibernau Bultó is a Spanish former professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. His racing career spans three different eras of motorcycle racing, beginning with the two-stroke-dominated period prior to the 2002 season, and the four-stroke MotoGP era. He returned to racing in 2019 to compete in the electric-powered MotoE World Cup. Gibernau was one of the top riders in Grand Prix racing at the beginning of the MotoGP era.
context_section_description: Gibernau returned to action on 17 June 2008, testing the Desmosedici GP9 at the Mugello Circuit, in a three-day test session alongside official test rider Vittoriano Guareschi. There was speculation that he could replace the uncompetitive Marco Melandri aboard the second Factory Ducati for the later races in the 2008 season. Despite positive results, Ducati MotoGP Project Director Livio Suppo was unwilling to confirm any definite future for Gibernau with the team. Sete again tested the Desmosedici GP8 and GP9 on a three-day test beginning on 1 July 2008 at the Mugello circuit. He recorded a best time of 1´50.5 on board the GP8 on race tyres, just a few tenths off this year's race record at Mugello set by Casey Stoner. He clocked a 1´48.9 on 30 July at Mugello on qualifying tyres which would have placed him seventh on the starting grid for the 2008 Italian Grand Prix.
  After a few months of speculation, on 23 October at Valencia, it was officially confirmed that he would return to race in the 2009 season with the Onde 2000 team, a Ducati satellite team run by Ángel Nieto. The squad is backed by Onde 2000, a Spanish building concern. With number 15 taken by Alex de Angelis, a new figure has been used for Gibernau's comeback campaign. Gibernau chose 59, in reference to the year in which his grandfather's Bultaco company produced their first bike.
  He began testing for the new team at Valencia. Gibernau's quickest lap was a 1´34.451 riding the Onde 2000 Ducati GP9, that placed him a modest 14th on the 18-rider timesheets, almost two seconds from fastest man Casey Stoner. At Jerez, in his first official test since return to MotoGP, he ranked ninth among 14 riders, notably faster than Niccolò Canepa on the Alice Ducati and Vittoriano Guareschi on the factory Ducati. Gibernau admitted that, at 35, among the current crop of young MotoGP stars—"I´m going to have to work very hard and I´m ready for that." He admitted he was not back in MotoGP to win races, but rather to enjoy himself on the bike. Gibernau acknowledged the bikes had changed a lot in the two years he had been absent from the sport. He noted that the Ducati was now very competitive with much potential. "Cornering speed is extremely quick and compared to 2006 there's a lot more electronics. You must trust it almost with your eyes closed, and I still can't do it. I think the rider should do certain things, while instead you must let the bike do it."
  Valentino Rossi said he is looking forward to renewing his rivalry with the former foe. “I am sorry I didn't see Sete on the track when we tested in Valencia because I think it's quite a big emotion for us to be together on the track again after all our great battles. I am happy to see him back. We spoke a little bit in the summer when he was thinking about coming back and I’m looking forward to racing him again.”
  At the opening round of the season in Qatar, Gibernau finished in thirteenth place, scoring three points. Gibernau then crashed out at the following race in Japan and finished in eleventh in Spain, his best result of the season.
  Gibernau missed the French and Italian grands prix due to a broken collarbone he sustained during a practice session at the Bugatti Circuit.
  On 4 June he confirmed that he will be fit to race at his home track - the Circuit de Catalunya. Upon his return, he finished fifteenth at the Catalan and thirteenth at the Dutch races. At his final race of the season, the United States round, he recorded his second DNF of the season after he crashed out.
  On 12 July 2009 the Grupo Francisco Hernando team announced that they would be withdrawing from the MotoGP championship due to financial constraints, leaving Gibernau without a ride for the remainder of the 2009 season.
  Gibernau finished nineteenth in the championship with 12 points, 294 points behind the champion Valentino Rossi and 249 points behind runner-up Jorge Lorenzo.
  Valentino Rossi has mentioned Casey Stoner, followed by Gibernau as his hardest rivals ever. Gibernau was known for his wet-weather abilities and was occasionally referred to as "
caption: Gibernau with Ángel Nieto before the start of the 2009 Spanish Grand Prix.
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