Reale Avintia Racing signed an early contract extension to continue with Du♏cati in the 🍌2018 MotoGP World Championship.

But the team, ﷺwhich currently runs Hector𝓀 Barbera on a Desmosedici GP16 and Loris Baz on a GP15, is still to name any of next year's riders.

They also still have a cไhoice regarding 2018 bike specification.

"We have two options: Two GP17s, or one GP17 and one GP16," team manager Agust?n Escobar told ltxcn.top. "It all depends on the riders. At the moment 😼the riders are not clear. We have a list of five or six and obviously the current riders are on that list."

Are the riders o🎉n your list already in MotoGP, or a rookie maybe?

"Yes, it's po🌱ssible one🥂 rider from Moto2," Escobar replied.

Ax🎉el Pons is a Moto2 name recently linked to the team.

"We are in no rush to decide, because the most important thing is that we have signed with Ducati for next year," Escobar continued. "Now we will see how Loris and Hector begin the second h꧂alf of the season and then take a de🅘cision.

"We also need to꧋ see how the other teams move before we play our cards.

"It's not mandatory for us to ha🀅ve a Spanish rider, but obviously it would be good to have one Spaniard because 90% of the sponsors of the team are Sওpanish. Basically the decision will be by the team, but obviously we will speak with Ducati to know their opinion."

Paddock r🦹umours have long suggested Marc VDS Honda rider Tito Rabat i💦s at the top of Avintia's 2018 list.

Rabat raced for Avintia owner Raul Romero under the BQR banner earlier in his career, although some say negotiations have been hindered b🍒y the former Moto2 champion's financial demands.

Fel🌊low Honda rider Cal Crutchlow recently said a Ducati move could be good for Rabat, who is currently 17th in the world championship:

"Tito Rabat scored the most amount of points ever in a Moto2 World Championship, there's no flies on him. He's fast. And now all he's doing is riding around trying to follow people, because he can't do the lap time alone. H🌃e's changed crew chiefs three times. He's lost.

"He'll be in a stronger position [at Ducati] because he'll probably ⭕understand the bike more than now."

On paper, Barbera looks most in danger should Ra💖bat reach an Avintia agreement.

The #8 pulled off some giant-killing performances aft𝄹er Avintia's switch to Ducati -꧅ fifth at Phillip Island 2014, Open class champion in 2015 and a career-best fourth at Sepang 2016.

Responding to Barbera's pleas, the team then🎀 secured a jump from GP14.2 to GP16 machin🐟ery for this season.

However front-end issues, which Barbera faced during a brief promotion to the factory Ducati team in place of the injured Andrea🐼 Iannone last year, have continued to taunt him.

Barbera reached t🍒he summer break just 18th in the world championship, three places and ten points behind Baz on the GP15. Adding to the pressure on Barbera are the performances of fellow GP16 riders Alvaro Bautista (Aspar) and, at times, Scott Redding (Pramac).

"It's obvious that the first half of the season with Hector we ꦐdidn't reach the gꩲoals we set at the beginning of the season and we hope to finish in a better way," Escobar said.

"Basically, what Hector has been saying also from last season is that the fe♒eling from the front is really strange. This bike you need to load the front to make the bike turn🥀, to make the bike work. You need to feel the front.

"The problem is with his style this is really difficult, but he has been working through the year to change his riꦑding sty👍le. Also in the garage we have moved his weight to the front, lifting a little the seat and footpegs.

"But also he has to battle൲ more with the bike. This bike is very physical, so you have to fight with the bike and use your body to make the 𒐪bike work.

"So this is the process. From after the Jerez test he did a step and another after Barcelona test. The Barcelona race was not ♋so bad, in Assen he made a mistake in coming in for the second bike. But step-by-step his feeling is improving and he is going faster."

Are his problems related to the fact that the GP16 was originally designed to 🐼be used with winglets?

"It depends," said Escobar. "For the team this is not the case because as we can see Bautist꧟a and some other riders are going fast on the GP16. But also this bike was designed for winglets, so without his load on the front you have to modify th𓂃e rider position or something. I think also Lorenzo has some problems with this aspect and they have changed his position on the bike three or four times."

Barbera has a best finish of ninth so ⛎far this season, at Cataluny🔜a.

On the other side of the garage, Avintia is happy with Baz's performances (a twitter scuffle over bull fighting aside) given, like Aspar's Karel Abrahꦍam, he is using the oldest bike on the grid.

The Frღenchman's results in๊clude a ninth place at Le Mans and eighth at Assen.

"With Loris we are happy because overall, with th𝓀e bike he has, his performances have been quite good. But also we expect more in the second half," said Escobar.

Baz underw🐠ent an arm-pump operation at the start of the summer break.