Reale Avintia Racing signed an early contract extension to continue with Ducati in the 2018 MꦕotoGP World Championship.

But ꦫthe team, which currently runs Hector 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 choice regard🐻ing 2018 bike specification.

"We have two options: Two GP17s, or one GP17 and one GP16," team manager Agust?n Escobar told mahbx.com. "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 on your🥂 list alread𓂃y in MotoGP, or a rookie maybe?

"Yes, it'💝s possible one ri🌺der from Moto2," Escobar replied.

Axel Pons is a Moto2 name reꦕcently 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," Escob🃏ar continued. "Now we will see how Loris and Hector begin the se൩cond half of the season and then take a decision.

"We also need to see how t♛he other teams move before we play our cards.

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

Paddock rumou♎rs have long suggested Marc VDS Honda rider Tito Rabat is at the top of Avintia's 2018 list.

Rabat raced for Avintia owner Raul ෴Romero under the BQR banner ea✤rlier in his career, although some say negotiations have been hindered by the former Moto2 champion's financial demands.

Fellow Honda rider Cal Crutchlow recently said a Ducatiౠ 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 Cham꧋pionship, there's no flies on him. He's fast. And now all heꦦ's doing is riding around trying to follow people, because he can't do the lap time alone. He's changed crew chiefs three times. He's lost.

"He📖'll be in a stronger position [at Ducat🐻i] because he'll probably understand the bike more than now."

On paper, Barbera looks most in dange𝐆r should Rabat reach an Avintia agreement.

The #8 pulled off some giant-killing performances after Avinඣtia'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 𒁏team then secured a jump from GP14.2 to GP16 machinery for t💟his season.

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

Barbera reached the summer break just 18th in the world championship, three places and ten points behind Baz on the GP15. Adding to the prℱessure 🌄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 didn't reach the goals we set at the beginning of the seꦑason and we hope to finish in a better way," ﷺEscobar said.

"Basically, what Hector has been saying also from last season is that the feeling from the front is really strang🐈e. 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 ye🍒ar to change his riding style. Also in the garage we have moved his weight to the front, lifting a little the seat and footpegs.

"But also he has to battle more with the bike. This bike is very physical, so you have to fight with the bike and us💝e your body to make the bike 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 se💃cond 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 ꦕdesigned to be used with winglets?

"It depends," said Escobar. "For the team this is not the case becau💮se a🧜s we can see Bautista 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 the 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 finis𒁃h of nin🔯th so far this season, at Catalunya.

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 Abraham, he is using the oldest bike on the grid.

The Frenchman's results incl♒ude a ninth place at Le Mans and eighth at Assen.

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

Baz und♈erwent an arm-pump opera♐tion at the start of the summer break.