“The elephant in the room.” “It stuck out like a sore thumb.” “The unspoken truth.”
You’ve had it happen to you before, I’m sure. A presentation, an announcement, or a proclamation. You heard it loud and clear, but it’s also what wasn’t said that you kind of got fixated on.
When Rahal Ducati Moto held their press conference on Friday at Circuit of The Americas, they did an excellent job announcing their three-rider team for 2026, introducing Alessandro Di Mario as the new rider in Supersport, who will race alongside incumbent team member Kayla Yaakov. Also, it was great news to hear that PJ Jacobsen will be returning to Superbike, and also, aboard the brand-new Panigale V4 R in Ducati Rahal Moto w/EXPEL livery.
Di Mario is pretty tall. But, what about the really tall guy? Corey Alexander. He wasn’t there, and he wasn’t mentioned. As a PR professional, I completely understand why he wasn’t mentioned. That press conference was not the time or place.
Immediately after the presser concluded, I made a beeline to Rahal Ducati Moto Team Manager Richie Alexander. He’s Corey’s uncle and one of my favorite people in the MotoAmerica paddock. Richie made it known to me in a certain way that Corey is going to continue racing for “that other team” in “that other class.” He didn’t have to be specific for me to understand, so I’m not going to be specific, either.
Suffice to say, “that other team” is exceedingly happy with Corey’s development work on their bike, and all indications are that they want to move forward. He fits on that bike really well, which is not really something you could say about the more compact ergonomics of the Ducati Panigale V2 in fulkl race trim. Alexander did well in Supersport for Rahal Ducati Moto, but it was not, let’s say, an ideal pairing with him and that bike.
Still, Rahal Ducati Moto let Corey make the decision. It was completely up to him, and he chose to focus his racing for 2026 on “that other team” and “that other bike.”
“I’d love to share all of the details,” Corey said, “But, at this moment, I can only say I’ll be racing something next year and hopefully we can announce more in the near future. Thanks to the Rahal Ducati Moto team for treating me like family these past two seasons, and thank you, also, to Roller Die + Forming for allowing it to happen.”
OK, I admit that I kind of danced around the elephant in this room a little bit myself. But, there might be an official announcement coming during the off-season. You heard it here first. Do not worry about Corey Alexander. He’s fine, and you will see him racing again in the MotoAmerica paddock in 2026. You’ll definitely see him, and not just because he is really tall.
