Ducati

Ducati became the first manufacturer to release a roadgoing version of a MotoGP race machine yesterday, when it showed the prototype version of the Desmosedici RR which will go on sale as an extremely limited edition next year – only 400 machines a year will be built and the price will be around US$70,000. Ducati chose the magical atmosphere of the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello to launch the RR production prototype and it was a fitting venue at which to show the first-ever road-going MotoGP motorcycle. You can put your name on the list to own one here and it should be noted that if you own a Ducati 999R, you get priority. Unlike the V-twin bikes which have made the Ducati name famous, the Desmosedici RR uses an L-four layout. That’s the replica and the original racer together. Full details and extensive photo gallery inside. Read More

May 10, 2006 One of the biggest problems facing motorsport is the engenuity of the engineers and the march of technology forever increasing speed and power, improving handling and aerodynamics and reducing laptimes. Formula One car racing reduced the capacity from 3.0 litres to 2.4 litres this year and already the lap times are trending back to last year’s. Next year the premier motorcycle racing MotoGP class will have the current 1000cc capacity limit reduced to 800cc and no doubt we’ll see a similar situation. Last week Ducati became the first of the teams to show its new 800cc powered prototype Desmosedici GP7 machine and already the signs are there that the lap time gap won’t be very large for very long. With a capacity of 800cc (81mm bore x 38.8mm stroke), Australian Motorcycle News is reporting that the new bike is already producing 169kW (226 bhp) compared to the current machine’s 190kW (255 bhp), a power drop of just 11 percent compared to a capacity drop of 20 percent. This has been achieved because the motor now spins to 18,200 rpm compared to the old 86mm x 42.6mm layout which redlined at 16,550 rpm. Whatsmore, the smaller motor will enable a much smaller bike with room to move the engine within the chassis to get the best balance for each circuit/rider – a smaller, more nimble and adaptable bike is expected to further reduce lap times so it’s not out of the question that by the time the 2007 season starts, times won’t have increased much. Read More

March 26, 2006 Ducati’s Loris Capirossi won today's season-opening Spanish GP to put the Ducati Marlboro Team at the top of the MotoGP points table for the first time in history. The race could prove to be a pivotal moment in MotoGP history, as it saw reigning champ Valentino Rossi knocked off on the second corner, and the coming of age of two of Rossi’s much younger rivals in Danni Pedrosa and Casey Stoner. Pedrosa incredibly challenged for the lead in his first MotoGP race and headed a Honda RC211V freight train that stretched from second (Pedrosa) through sixth place (Hayden, Elias, Melandri, Stoner). Stoner was almost as impressive, as his sixth came after missing the pre-season meaning he started his first race on a bike that was well behind in development. With Kawasaki now competitive with race leading machinery and more promise from Suzuki, it’s clear that 2006 will be a far more evenly balanced year of competition. In true never-say-die fashion, Rossi remounted after his first lap crash and finished the race to grab 14th place and two championship points – perhaps a pointer to just how valuable points will be over coming months. Read More

March 14, 2006 A few months is a long time in motor racing and Ducati enters the 2006 season with realistic optimisim considering the poor shape its race effort was in just over six months ago. At that time the company’s perpetual superbike crown was all but lost and the MotoGP race machine had not yet blossomed in the way it did in the final races of 2005 before a Capirossi injury ended a string of poles, fastest laps and race winning efforts. Now the company’s fortunes are following on from that showing with continued speed and now two riders capable of challenging Valentino Rossi for a win. Troy Bayliss has put the factory superbike back on top after four races in the 2006 championship and the two MotoGP riders have finished first and second in the final official tests prior to the commencement of hostilities. Both riders are fit and fast and the bike is “smoking.”

Even better news is that Kawasaki’s big spending is paying off (Nakano was third fastest), Suzuki is running at the front with two good riders and a slew of promising new Honda riders have all showed race leading pace. Everyone is in great shape to attempt the impossible, or at very least highly improbable – beating Valentino Rossi and his Yamaha in what everyone accepts will be his last year of MotoGP. Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards experienced tyre difficulties in the final test, but Rossi clearly has what he needs to continue his winning ways. But the big news on the final day of testing was the pace of the Ducati Desmosedici which put Capirossi and Gibernau ahead of everyone, both on race and qualifying tyres, on the final of the three MotoGP test days. Read More

February 23, 2006 Ducati’s ability to make performance motorcycles that are easy to ride is uncanny. It’s original mid-range L-twin, the Pantah 500, was both an ideal learners machine yet the basis for many a sweet-handling racebike. Now the newly announced Ducati 695 represents a unique offering in the world of motorcycles and in the Ducati Monster family in much the same way; it is a motorcycle that is welcoming to novice riders but, at the same time, is capable of delivering a level of performance that can thrill far more advanced riders. While becoming the new entry point to the Monster family, Ducati claims the Monster 695 will transform a motorcyclist into a Ducatista, a member of the Ducatisti tribe of fans whose motorcycle looks, feels and sounds like no other. The Monster 695, a preview of the Model Year 2007, replaces the 620, and is a quantum leap forward in terms of handling, riding pleasure and performance. The potent new 695 cc L-Twin delivers much greater horsepower and torque – the highest output per cc of any Ducati air-cooled engine – while producing smoother and more fluid power, making every twist of the throttle exciting and satisfying. Read More

February 18, 2006 The Motorcycle Design Association, a group of designers and professionals from within the two-wheel industry worldwide, has voted the Ducati Hypermotard, designed by Pierre Terblanche, as the best overall motorcycle design trophy winner for 2005. In winning the best overall design award, the Hypermotard scored 50% more votes than the runner-up, the Yamaha MT-0S concept bike. The MT-OS won the concept bike category with Honda’s DN-01 and the Victory Vision tieing for second place. The Hypermotard’s award follows on from the ‘Best of Show’ award it won at the EICMA Show in Milan last November, one of the most important shows worldwide for the motorcycle industry. The Hypermotard also won the Open bike category, from Bimota's Delirio and BMW's HP2. Yamaha's R6 won the supersport category from the Motocycsz C1. Read More

January 20, 2006 – At the beginning of each racing season, just before the engines fire in anger for the first time after the Christmas lull, Ducati’s MotoGP team and Ferrari’s Formula One team share an annual appointment on the mountains of Madonna di Campiglio in Trento with a media and ski get-together - the formula of the event revolves around skiing in the mountains together with a round of press meetings and conferences. This year Ducati took the opportunity to pull the wraps off the Desmosedici GP06, the new MotoGP machine that Loris Capirossi and Sete Gibernau will be campaigning this season. A rare insight into a new MotoGP machine - 235 bhp at 16,500 rpm and a dry weight of just 148 kilograms Read More

November 16, 2005 Ducati used the opening of the EICMA Motorcycle Show in Milan yesterday to show two new motorcycles – one you can buy and a concept that Ducati is considering for production. The bike you can buy (as a 2007 model in 2006) is the new king of the naked bike class, the MONSTER S4RS TESTASTRETTA, a minimalist machine powered by the legendary Testastretta engine which has won several World Superbike championships and puts 130 brake horsepower on the tarmac (150 bhp with an optional exhaust). Equally as delectable and appealing as the S4RS was the Hypermotard concept machine – an extension of the supermotard class of machines using an air-cooled 1000 Dual Spark engine and weighing in at just 175 kilograms. EXTENSIVE IMAGE LIBRARY OF THE NEW MACHINES Read More

September 26, 2005 Complete report and image library: Valentino Rossi won his fifth consecutive World MotoGP title yesterday afternoon, though the race was won by Ducati-mounted Loris Capirossi who won his second Grand Prix in a week, giving Ducati its best ever MotoGP result when his team-mate Carlos Checa finished third. Having won a 125 and 250 title prior to his string of five consecutive MotoGP titles, Rossi’s championship t-shirt featured a Barry Sheene-style 7, for seven world titles, and a white commemorative helmet was created by AGV for the moment, also with the number 7 on it. Read More