The signing of reigning MotoGP World Champion Jorge Lorenzo to Ducati for the 2017 season is the latest big-name signing of the Italian brand within its factory squad. Despite many difficult periods with the Desmosedici since its debut in 2003, Ducati has attracted some of the biggest names in grand prix racing, however only few have been able to tame it. Here are 10 of the finest signings over the years.

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1. Casey Stoner:
There’s no doubt that Australian Casey Stoner is Ducati’s best-ever grand prix rider. As the only world champion aboard the Desmosedici in 2007 – his first season with the brand – Stoner extracted performance out of the Ducati like nobody else could between that year and 2010, despite experiencing health issues along the way. In total he claimed 23 wins, 42 podiums, 21 pole positions and 20 fastest laps! Fittingly, he’s only just reunited with the team as official test rider in 2016.

2. Loris Capirossi:
Italian veteran Loris Capirossi enjoyed a successful period with Ducati between 2003 and 2007. He was on the podium with third in Japan first time out and then claimed the Bologna brand’s first win Catalunya’s sixth round. From there Capirossi scored seven wins in total, 23 podiums, eight poles and eight fastest laps. His best championship result was third in 2006.

3. Troy Bayliss:
With one World Superbike crown to his credit at the time, Aussie hero Troy Bayliss joined Ducati for its inaugural MotoGP campaign in 2003 and remained there for two seasons. He had a reasonable amount of success in the switch including four podiums, but ultimately returned to WorldSBK in 2006 (he spent a season at Honda in between). TB’s real heroics, however, came with a stunning with at Valencia 2006 in a guest appearance – his lone grand prix victory in 44 attempts.

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4. Andrea Dovizioso:
Current factory rider Andrea Dovizioso has been with Ducati since replacing Valentino Rossi in 2013 and has played an integral development role, while also capturing success in more recent years. Dovi has eight podiums aboard the Desmosedici, including one this year at Qatar, plus a pair of pole positions. Fifth in the title-chase for 2014 was his high-point overall, but a win has to be high on the agenda now.

5. Andrea Iannone:
Last year was Italian hard-charger Andrea Iannone’s first with the factory team, but he spent two seasons at Pramac Racing learning his craft beforehand. During that time he’s amassed four podiums (all with the factory squad), a pole position and a fastest lap. Typically comfortable aboard the Desmo, fifth in the standings last year – two ahead of Dovizioso – was impressive.

6. Valentino Rossi:
It was one of the biggest announcements in grand prix racing history when legendary Italian Valentino Rossi moved to Ducati as a nine-time world champion in 2011. He never really did gel with the Desmosedici and performed well below par with just three podiums in two seasons, plus there was also two fastest laps. In the end his tenure in red resulted in seventh overall in 2011 and sixth in 2012.

7. Nicky Hayden:
American Nicky Hayden was with Ducati during one of its most difficult periods in grand prix racing, but the 2006 world champion had some good results in his time aboard the Desmosedici. Hayden spent five full seasons with Ducati between 2009 and 2013, picking up three podiums (in his first three seasons). His best series result was seventh in 2010. His best attribute? Little time was spent publicly complaining about the difficulties behind the scenes.

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8. Carlos Checa:
With just a single season at Ducati’s factory MotoGP team in 2005, Spanish veteran Carlos Checa took much grand prix experience to the team as replacement of Troy Bayliss. He did land two podiums in the latter stages of the year (Sepang and Phillip Island) and took ninth in the standings, but Checa lost out on the factory seat to Sete Gibernau the year afterwards.

9. Cal Crutchlow:
High-rated Brit Cal Crutchlow was initially supposed to ride for Ducati in 2014 and 2015, but a difficult first season on the factory Desmosedici saw him exit for a satellite Honda seat after just one term. He did manage to finish on the box at Aragon on his way to 13th in the championship (the worst result of his GP career), but that was about as good as things got.

10. Sete Gibernau:
When Sete Gibernau joined Ducati in 2006 to take over from Carlos Checa, he started the season with some promising form. Two top fives in the opening six races, including a stunning pole position at Mugello, indicated he was adapting well, however a crash at the following race at Catalunya and more injuries following (although he did take three more top fives) ultimately spelt the end of his career with a 13th-place finish in the standings.