Mercedes and Ducati, partners in…?

While Mercedes unveiled its new CLS63 AMG don’t-call-me-a-four-door at the LA Motor Show last night, a hayseed from Kentucky snuck onstage with one of them new-fangled motor sickles and prompted a surprise announcement. Mercedes and Ducati are apparently going to be partners.

Update: according to Mercedes’ Twitter feed, “AMG announces sponsorship of Ducati MotoGP team with Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden in 2011.”

Update 2: full details thanks to Jeremy at Autoblog.

All articles remain open for 12 hours from their time of publishing. The full version of this article, additional photos and comments are available to subscribers. Click here to subscribe, it’s quick and easy. Already a subscriber? Click here to log in.