Ducati Monster 2013 Motorcycles, page #21

Moto blog

Three-Time World Champion Wayne Rainey Honored At Quail Motorcycle Gathering

Saturday, May 4 marked the 5th annual Quail Motorcycle Gathering in Carmel, California. With such a diverse collection of historical, rare and outrageous motorcycles, the Quail is an event we thoroughly enjoyed attending last year. To commemorate the occasion, this year’s guest of honor was none other than three-time 500cc Grand Prix world champion, and local area resident, Wayne Rainey.

Audi Announces Ducati Q1 2013 Sales Results

Ducati sold 9,817 motorcycles in the first three months of 2013, according to the first quarter report from parent company Audi. The first quarter sales result represents a 5.2% decline from the 10,360 Ducati motorcycles sold in the same quarter of 2012 when the company was owned by Investindustrial. Sales were down in Europe where the economy continues to struggle.

Ziggy Marley To Perform In Southern California For Charity

On Friday, May 10th, motorcycle and music fans alike can gather at Newcombs Ranch Roadhouse at the base of the Angeles National Forest, where Ziggy Marley, Bob’s eldest son, will perform a concert to benefit the Chepstowe Basic School in Port Antonio, Jamaica. But beyond trying to raise funds for impoverished school children, Ziggy is also promoting a six-part documentary series, sponsored in part by Ducati, where he and his brothers Rohan and Robbie ride Ducati Multistradas through Africa. The film, entitled Marley Africa Road Trip, is directed by David Alexanian, who also directed Long Way Round and Long Way Down. View the trailer below.

Ben Spies to Miss Jerez MotoGP Round

Pramac Racing announced Ben Spies will sit out the Jerez round of the 2013 MotoGP World Championship after suffering from chest pains at last weekend’s Grand Prix of the Americas in Austin, Texas. Spies cut short his 2012 season, missing the final two rounds to go under the knife last October to repair  ligaments in his right shoulder. During the off-season Spies signed with the Pramac Ducati satellite team and worked towards coming back for the 2013 season opener at Qatar.

Claudio Domenicali to Replace Gabriele Del Torchio as Ducati CEO

Current Ducati CEO, Gabriele Del Torchio, is leaving the company to take up new professional challenges. Replacing him is Ducati General Manager and Member of the Board of Directors at Ducati Motor Holding, Claudio Domenicali. Domenicali joined Ducati as a project leader in 1991.

Austin Kicks Off MotoGP Weekend!

  This weekend, the MotoGP circus makes its way to the United States for round two of the world championship, held at the stunning new Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, the first time the track will host a world championship level motorcycle event. Expect to see the world’s fastest racebikes reach speeds over 200 mph on the 1 km (0.62-mile) back straight, and bring ear plugs — these bikes are loud! Fresh off a 1-2 finish in the season opener in Qatar, Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi are looking to carry the momentum to CotA.

AMA Pro Racing Announces Basic Twins Flat Track Class for 2014 Season

AMA Pro Racing announced a new class for Flat Track racing designed to provide a new stepping stone for up-and-coming Pro-licensed racers, replacing the Pro Singles class in 2014. The new class, to be called Basic Twins, is more or less a revival of the Basic Expert Twins division that ran during the 2007 and 2008 seasons, but dropped when the Pro Singles class was introduced for 2009. The new class will give young racers a chance to showcase their skills on Twins, easing their transition to eventually enter the Grand National Expert Twins class.

MotoGP to Hold Official Test in Argentina; South American Nation Returning to Calendar for 2014

Dorna Sports announced there will be a MotoGP test at Argentina’s Circuito Internacional Termas de Rio Hondo in July to allow teams to prepare for the track’s expected addition to the 2014 MotoGP calendar. Argentina was actually supposed to join the MotoGP tour this season, but the round was scrapped because of a dispute between the country and Spain after the Argentine government seized control of a Repsol subsidiary. Repsol is, of course, a prominent sponsor of several teams including Honda‘s factory team.

Greg Tracy to Ride Amarok P1A Electric Sportbike for Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

Canada’s Amarok Racing has secured quite a coup in signing six-time Pikes Peak International Hill Climb winner Greg Tracy to ride its P1A electric superbike for the 2013 edition of the event. Tracy has six class victories in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, winning in 1996, 1999, 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010. His victories have come riding motorcycles from several manufacturers: Honda, Yamaha, BMW and, more recently, Ducati.

Rainy BSB tests are nothing new

THE combination of bad weather in the UK and a European testing ban means that most BSB teams will now start the season with very little track time. This sounds like a disaster for the top teams but history has proved this isn’t necessarily true and it sometimes doesn’t matter how much pre season preparation has taken place.  Back in 2002 Sean Emmett won on the IFC Ducati at the opening Silverstone round after first riding it in unofficial practice the same weekend. Steve Hislop took the other win on Pauls Bird’s well sorted Ducati. More recently in 2009, Leon Camier took an untested new model R1 Yamaha to victory at the Brands Hatch opener after GSE took delivery of the bike just the week before. Sylvain Guintoli won the other race on a well developed, well tested Crescent Suzuki. You could argue if no one has had testing then it is a level playing field but you have to feel for riders moving up to the superbike class in the world’s toughest national series.  Tyco Suzuki’s PJ Jacobson is one such rider but having spent some time with him over the past few weeks he seems to be taking it all in his stride. It may be the confidence of youth or maybe the fact he has won in every other class he has entered in his short BSB career, but I suspect he fancies at least standing on the Superbike podium at Brands (He also does a bit of ice racing which is not dissimilar to the this year’s UK testing).  The testing ban was implemented with all the best cost cutting intentions and if it had been any other year in the past decade all would be well. The teams may be feeling frustrated but the fans should be excited. With so many unknowns, the 2013 BSB opener at Brands Hatch could be the best ever!