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Ductalk: What's Up In The World Of Ducati
Ducati News Roundup Curated by Vicki Smith for Ducati.net |
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Vicki Smith for Ducati.net
April 23, 2012 6:56 AM
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Johnny Rea scores a popular win in race-two at Assen...
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Vicki Smith for Ducati.net
April 23, 2012 6:55 AM
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Sylvain Guintoli wins an exciting race one in Assen.
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Vicki Smith for Ducati.net
April 23, 2012 6:49 AM
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As a long-term Ducatista (50 years!), I’ve owned some of the best and ridden most of the rest. My own highlight was the ’74 750 Sport, which I rode from Ohio to California (with clip-ons), a trip described in the May ’75 issue of Cycle Guide. Next in line would be the Desmo 350 and the 250 Scrambler. In my seniority I remain bevelheaded....More here: http://www.ducati.net/2012/04/bevelheaded-by-tod-rafferty/
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Vicki Smith for Ducati.net
April 23, 2012 5:23 AM
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WSBK News.Carlos Checa says it is his fault he started the second race at Assen on full wet tyres despite the drying conditions.
Carlos Checa says he is to blame for the decision to start the second World Superbike race of the day of full wet tyres, an error that left him outside the points and places him behind Max Biaggi in the overall standings.
An eventful day for the reigning champion, Checa went into the opening race looking to extend his advantage in the overall standings and duly found himself embroiled in an intense battle for the lead of the race with several other riders....more on the headline link above
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Vicki Smith for Ducati.net
April 23, 2012 5:10 AM
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If you’re fortunate enough to be able to stump up the £23,495 for the Tricolore version of the Ducati 1199 Panigale, you’re in for a treat.
Not only do you get this sexy colour scheme included in the price, racing ABS and the latest-generation ‘Ducati Data Analyser’ (DDA+) datalogger, you get a pair of titanium Termignoni slip-on cans, which boosts power to previously unheard of levels for a Ducati road bike.
During our recent dyno runs our standard Panigale S test bike made an impressive 177bhp - up 17bhp on the old 1198, but torque was 5ftlb down on the old superbike’s ground-churning 95ftlb....more on the headline link above
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Vicki Smith for Ducati.net
April 22, 2012 10:23 PM
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Assen (The Netherlands), Sunday 22nd April 2012: Team Althea Racing and its riders Davide Giugliano and Carlos Checa took a great result in very difficult conditions in today’s first Superbike race at the Dutch TT circuit of Assen; the riders crossed the line in second and third position respectively. The second race was more difficult for Checa, who closed seventeenth, while Giugliano finished ninth.
Race 1 got underway in dry conditions and both Carlos and Davide made a good start, with Carlos fourth at the end of the first lap and Davide twelfth, having started from nineteenth place on the grid. After twelve laps and a number of crashes, a red flag stopped the race. A restart was required as the riders had only completed 12 of the planned 22 laps. In the second race, Carlos once again started from fifth while Giugliano got away from the tenth spot on the grid thanks to the work he’d done during the first ‘heat’. This time both Althea men had to face pouring rain and a cold wind. At the end of the first (of nine) laps, Checa was third, followed by Giugliano in fourth. Carlos then passed Badovini, taking command of the race when Haslam, ahead of him, crashed. In the final phase Carlos lost a little ground but, not wanting to take unnecessary risks, was satisfied with final third place. Davide meanwhile battled it out first with Laverty and then with Biaggi, projecting himself up into second position, a position that he held until the line to take his first ever Superbike podium, just behind race winner Guintoli and ahead of team-mate Checa.
Race 2 was declared ‘wet’ due to a damp track. Carlos decided to go out on a rain tyre, believing that it might come on to rain soon after but unfortunately it proved to be the wrong decision, and meant that he had to return to the garage after one lap to change the tyre. Carlos returned to the track in last position. Davide made a good start and lay in fourteenth place at the end of the first lap. He then passed first Hopkins and then Biaggi, moving up to eighth by mid-race. In the final stages the young Althea rider battled it out with both Biaggi and Badovini and closed the race in final ninth place, gaining another six championship points. Carlos was unfortunately unable to catch those ahead of him, despite a very fast pace (he recorded the fastest lap of the race – 1m38.092 - on the sixteenth lap); he closed race 2 in seventeenth position.
After three rounds, Carlos lies in second position in the general standings with 91 points, one point behind leader Biaggi. Thanks to today’s results Giugliano moves up from seventeenth to tenth position with 37 points. Ducati continues to lead the manufacturer’s championship with 136 points to Aprilia’s 100.
Carlos Checa:
“I’m more than satisfied with the result in Race 1, because conditions were already tricky in the first phase, let alone in the second! After the restart, there was little traction, little grip, and when I saw some of the others go down, I decided it was better to finish the race than risk a fall. Considering the conditions, probably one of the worst SBK races I’ve ever ridden, we’re happy with third place. Congratulations to Davide too who made a great race – he deserved the result. In race 2 I made a mistake and take full responsibility for it. I chose to go out on a rain tyre as I though rain would come but I was wrong. I’m sorry I didn’t come straight back in to change it during the warm-up lap as, that way, I would have probably been able to close in the top ten but instead I waited and by then it was too late to be able to catch up. We turn the page and look ahead.”
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Vicki Smith for Ducati.net
April 22, 2012 8:44 AM
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Spent the day at Road Atlanta. We haven't been to an AMA race in a while and this one was delivering a lot for the entertainment dollar. In the Atlanta area? Not to late to check out the action. It's a pretty great way to spend the day.....
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Vicki Smith for Ducati.net
April 22, 2012 6:56 AM
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What does BMW think of rival Audi's decision to purchase Ducati? We posed that question to Bernhard Gobmeier, head of BMW's WSBK program.
"We followed the negotiations very carefully - the German manager admitted - I don't think the deal will change things very much on track, but it will be interesting to see their future strategy for production based racing."
We also asked Gobmeier what he thought about Infront's proposal for some longer races (150-180 kilometers, compared to the current length of 90-110 km) at Magny Cours and Imola, with endurance style pit-stops for refueling.
Read more: http://www.gpone.com/index.php/en/201204206651/BMW-Ducati-will-stay-the-same.html#ixzz1skFuas2l
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Vicki Smith for Ducati.net
April 22, 2012 6:30 AM
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Neil Hodgson - Ducati World Superbike Painting by Jeff Taylor
Canvas Print - $78
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Vicki Smith for Ducati.net
April 22, 2012 6:18 AM
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Technically the VW umbrella should help.
The night air thrums, then vibrates. There is a roar as 1,000 cc of pure power streaks past. In the metro cities and wannabe metros such as Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Pune and Bangalore, the nights and the highways have become playgrounds to a different sort of animal: the superbike.
And Ducati, it seems, is the king of this jungle that mostly comes alive at night. For the infamous late night drags (races) or for the more sedate traveller who bikes large distances on 'cruisers', the brand that is owned by the likes of John Abraham is on the list of most 'serious' bikers....More on the headline link above
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Vicki Smith for Ducati.net
April 22, 2012 5:51 AM
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@NickyHayden69
Nicky Hayden
Pedaled up on @ValeYellow46 playground today on our ride. Next time I'll bring my boots and @Tommy_Hayden22 #notsobad http://t.co/FvoxKo7U
Apr 21 via Twitter for iPhone Favorite Retweet Reply
Pedaled up on @ValeYellow46 playground today on our ride. Next time I'll bring my boots and @Tommy_Hayden22 #notsobad http://pic.twitter.com/FvoxKo7U
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Vicki Smith for Ducati.net
April 22, 2012 5:08 AM
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ESPN STAR Sports Grid Zone
We corner Nicky Hayden and find out more about his life off the track. Watch 2 Wheels every Thursday night on Star Sports!
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Vicki Smith for Ducati.net
April 21, 2012 3:49 PM
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Assen (The Netherlands), Saturday 21st April 2012: the third Superpole of the 2012 World Superbike Championship took place this afternoon with very variable conditions at the Dutch TT Circuit in Assen. Carlos Checa, championship leader after two rounds, qualified in fifth place for tomorrow’s races while his team-mate Davide Giugliano will start from the fifth row, in nineteenth position.
As expected, this morning’s second qualifying session took place in the rain and with a track temperature of just 4 degrees (air temperature 8˚C). Despite the difficult conditions, Giugliano made some fast laps right from the start, recording one of the fastest times of the first half of the session (2m01). Unfortunately, towards mid-session, the Althea Racing rider crashed, but was thankfully unhurt. It took time to repair the damage to the bike and so Davide was unable to return to the track. Lap times began to fall in the final stages of the session when the rain stopped but Carlos wasn’t taking any risks, preferring to work on the set-up and recording a best of 1m57. Yesterday’s dry qualifying times thus determined who would enter this afternoon’s Superpole, meaning that Checa qualified with no problems in fourth position while Giugliano unfortunately closed outside of the top sixteen. He will start from nineteenth position on tomorrow’s grid.
Superpole 1:
Today’s Superpole was declared ‘wet’ despite the fact that the rain had stopped once more and the track was beginning to dry out again. Regulations dictate that a wet Superpole comprises two free sessions, each twenty minutes in length. Carlos went out on slick tyres and by the end of the session had clocked a best time of 1m38.8, closing the first phase in third position and proceeding to the second phase without difficulty.
Superpole 2:
This time Checa took to the track first with a race tyre and then on a qualifier. The times dropped dramatically in this second session, thanks to a quickly drying track. The Althea flagbearer recorded a fastest lap time of 1m37.1 which assured him of fifth position on the grid for tomorrow’s races.
Carlos Checa:
“This weekend has been, let’s say, different to many others, in that we’ve seen almost everything from a weather point of view, and such variable conditions have prevented us from working well, as it’s not been really dry or really wet for any length of time. In these conditions it’s also difficult with only one bike, as we can no longer set up one for the dry and the other for the wet, and so we lose time. I can’t make any guesses for the races, the only thing I can say with certainty is that everything is entirely unpredictable here at Assen!”
Davide Giugliano:
“Let’s say that it didn’t go our way this morning. We hoped to be able to make a few laps in the dry, seeing as we didn’t manage to qualify for the Superpole during yesterday’s session. But the track only got worse during today’s session, and was neither completely wet nor totally dry. I’d say that we’re better prepared for a wet race tomorrow, as we’ve had less time to work in the dry, but I just hope that we have one or the other, wet or dry, rather than mixed conditions like today.”
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Vicki Smith for Ducati.net
April 21, 2012 7:39 AM
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Desmopro and Ducati.net did a build for Cafe Racer Season three. Here are some photos I took from the premiere party at Fuller HotRods in Atlanta and the sneak preview party at Moto Corse Performance in Fort Lauderdale, FL Lots of great photos of the coolest workshop ever on the headline link above and more to come from Road Atlanta and the Cafe Racer area during the weekend
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Vicki Smith for Ducati.net
April 21, 2012 6:18 AM
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Ducati has officially changed hands, from those of Andrea Bonomi's Investindustrial investment firm (after he purchased it from Texas Pacific Group in 2006), to those of Audi, part of the Volkswagen Group. What this will change at Borgo Panigale remains to be seen, but the rebirth of Lamborghini, after it was purchased by the same company in 1998, bodes well for the future of the Italian marque, which had already seen solid growth in recent years.
The more nationalistic Italians have lamented that their historic company has "become German," but Livio Suppo, current director of marketing and communication for HRC, and who has an important past at Ducati, holds the opposite opinion. "I see absolutely no problem with Volkswagen acquiring Ducati - the Italian manager affirmed - Especially because we are talking about a manufacturing company, and not just a financial group. I'm very happy for them. I think it's stupid that in 2012, with a united Europe, people are complaining because the capital backing is from a German company and not an Italian one. Even more so because previously it was Americans who owned Ducati."
Read more: http://www.gpone.com/index.php/en/201204196644/Pernat-Suppo-approve-of-DucAudi.html#ixzz1sc7cZZh2
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Vicki Smith for Ducati.net
April 21, 2012 5:57 AM
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If you can apply a stereotype to Italians, it may well be that a vast many of them are devoutly superstitious.
Superstitions date back to the dawn of man and are, of course, not exclusive to Italians. However, in short, in Italy one does not walk under a ladder, spill salt on the table, lay a hat on a made bed, open an umbrella inside the house, put a loaf of bread down top first, nor does one skip steps when ascending/descending a staircase. Also, one does not wear (pick a color) on (pick a day). Dr. Claudio Costa has been known to tear up airline tickets and cancel flights simply because the number 13 was somewhere on the itinerary. Moreover, if you were lucky enough to eat lunch in his private hospitality at Imola, then perhaps you noticed that at the larger tables there were either 12 or 14 chairs, never 13....more on the headline link above
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Vicki Smith for Ducati.net
April 21, 2012 5:29 AM
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With advance sales of tickets for World Ducati Week 2012 already pointing to a record-breaking attendance, excitement for the event has now been increased even further with the chance to win a brand new Ducati Diavel Carbon Red and an exclusive two-person paddock pass for the San Marino MotoGP.
The seventh edition of WDW – this year entitled The Planet of the Champions – will continue Ducati’s tradition of offering the prize of a brand-new motorcycle and as preparations for the huge event reach full-throttle, details of the fantastic model up-for-grabs have been released....More on the headline link above
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Vicki Smith for Ducati.net
April 21, 2012 4:11 AM
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A Manchester supported, Russian-backed Ducati Paniagle in the superstock championship. How could it be any colour but red?
More on the headline link above...
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Vicki Smith for Ducati.net
April 20, 2012 11:32 PM
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Hardcore Duc fan Ferdinand Piech retains position at top of VW tree...
IN all the kerfuffle over Ducati's buyout by Audi one key point has largely been missed – namely that the biggest Ducati fan in the whole VW empire could have been forced out just as the deal was being confirmed.
Ferdinand Piech, chairman of Volkswagen's supervisory board and former CEO and chairman of the firm, is the figurehead and driving force at VW. Forced by company policy to 'retire' at 65, by taking the position on the supervisory board he's still arguably leading the company a decade later. However, yesterday at the firm's shareholder conference he had to stand once more for election to the supervisory board, and could easily have been ousted.
Instead he has been granted another five-year term, meaning he's going to remain at the head of the company until he's 80 years old.
Read more: http://www.visordown.com/motorcycle-news-industry/ducati-passes-key-hurdle/20488.html#ixzz1scBEynAe
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Vicki Smith for Ducati.net
April 20, 2012 4:37 PM
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On the eve of the third round of the WSBK championship, at Assen, there is considerable talk about Audi's recent acquisition of Ducati. Will it have an effect on the Italian marque's race programs?
Carlos Checa emerges from his garage after a long meeting with technical director Marco Lozej, and he is immediately faced with the question of the day.
"Audi? I like the Q7 a lot, so if I win another world championship, I think I would deserve one. Don't you agree?"
And then the Spaniard becomes a little more serious: "I won't change anything on track, and we are preparing for the race as we always do. Assen is a pretty good circuit for us (last year he won race two, ed.) and we need to score as many points as possible, since we will suffer at Monza."
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Vicki Smith for Ducati.net
April 20, 2012 4:07 PM
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Justin Bieber is snatching up hot wheels like most people buy Starbucks -- 'cause he just added a sick limited edition Ducati motorcycle to his ever-expanding fleet of vehicles.
According to sources, 18-year-old Bieber dropped $20,000 on a Ducati Superbike 848 EVO ... which was delivered to him Thursday.
We're told Biebs picked out the arctic white silk model at an LA dealership called Beverly Hills Ducati a couple days ago ... on recommendation from Usher, who has the black model.
Biebs doesn't even have his motorcycle license yet, but we're told he's working on it....more on the headline link above
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April 20, 2012 4:03 PM
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Sylvain Guintoli (Ducati Team Effenbert Liberty Racing) set the quickest time in this afternoon's first qualifying session at Assen, which was conditioned by bad weather.
ASSEN, Netherlands – Sylvain Guintoli (Ducati Team Effenbert Liberty Racing) set the quickest time in this afternoon’s first qualifying session at Assen, which was conditioned by bad weather. The riders first went out on slicks but one minute later it began to rain, making the track slippery. They just about managed to get back to the pits in reasonable conditions and then just a few riders ventured out at the end in the wet....More here: http://www.nationalspeedsportnews.com/motorcycle-racing/wsbk/guintoli-fast-in-wet-world-superbike-qualifying/
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April 20, 2012 8:21 AM
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The fourth annual Quail Motorcycle Gathering keeps getting better adding The Quail Marketplace and the US debut of Magni Motorcycles 1972 Magni Rocket 3.
Enthusiasts are invited to participate in the full concours judging with the Best of Show winner receiving a Breitling watch and bottle of Roederer Estate Brut. The Breitling Circle of Champions Awards Ceremony will be immediately followed by a press conference where media attendees will have the opportunity to interview Gordon McCall and winners....more here: http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/4/12838/Motorcycle-Article/Quail-Gathering-Adds-Marketplace--Magni-Debut.aspx
Ductalk Editors note - We are looking for modern Ducati Superbikes for the Quail display - contact Vicki @ Ducati.net if you would like to be included in the Ducati display at Quail
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Vicki Smith for Ducati.net
April 20, 2012 6:52 AM
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1974 Ducati 750GT and Cora the Dog
Photographer - Chuck West
Bike owner - Terry Protheroe
Location - Santa Fe, New Mexico
