Troy Bayliss will return to Ducati for the season-ending Valencia GP, in place of the injured Sete Gibernau.
Bayliss, 37, replaces Gibernau after the Spaniard injured his hand and collarbone in a crash with Casey Stoner at the Portuguese Grand Prix last weekend.
And he is thrilled at being given a chance to ride the Desmoseidici, alongside Loris Capirossi, in its final race before teams are restricted to 800cc bikes next season.
He said: "My season has finished and I have this great opportunity now so it's nice for all concerned and it'll also be great to join up again with some of my old team and mechanics.
“I feel really good it's Valencia, because it's a track I know like the back of my hand and I've always had good results there.
“I'll be thrown in at the deep end and won't have much time for practice but I know the bike pretty well. The only thing I won't have tried are the Bridgestone (tyres), but we'll take it step by step and see how it goes from there."
The Australian made his Moto GP debut with Ducati in 2003 and stayed with the team the following season before switching to Pons Honda in 2005. In that time, he scored four third places.
He switched back to World Superbikes – where he was world champion in 2001 – this season and duly delivered 12 wins on the way to a second title.
And Ducati team boss Livio Suppo is happy to reward Bayliss for his success.
"A big welcome back to Troy!" said Suppo. "He was the first guy to ride the Desmosedici in public here in Valencia in 2002 and now he will ride the bike in its last race.
“Once we realised that Sete wasn't fit we invited Troy to race to celebrate his second Superbike title with us. We just want him to enjoy the weekend because although there will be a lot of expectation upon him, it won't be easy.”
The ride will not be a pre-cursor to a full-time deal next season. Bayliss has already signed for another two years with Ducati's World Superbike team, while the Moto GP squad have confirmed Capirossi and Casey Stoner.
