2010 Ducati 848 on 2040-motos

Moto blog

848 Challenge heads to Holland

This weekend sees riders and teams heading across the North Sea to the famous Assen TT circuit for Round 2 of the Rapid Solicitors Ducati 848 Challenge. After two stunning opening races at Brands Hatch BSB three weeks ago, the expectation is that the racing will be similarly closely fought and exciting at the historical home of bike racing. Leon Morris left Brands with a double win, continuing his strong form from last season and will no doubt be the man to beat in Assen, while Darren Fry, the current Champion, will hope for better luck this weekend after breaking his coccyx at Brands Hatch in a heavy crash. But the Buildbase/JHP Ducati team-mates will be wary of the challenge from Mike’Spike’ Edwards (MSKWorks.com), who will be riding his upgraded Ducati 848EVO for the first time this weekend, and Mark Cheetham (Shorrocks Motorcycles) and Kenny Gilbertson (Art of Racing/Boast Plumbing) who were the main challengers for podium finishes three weeks ago.

848 Challenge Oulton Park official race report

An emphatic and confident double win for James Folkard (Minards Pavlou Solicitors/Win43.com) this weekend cemented his position as one of the front-runners in the Ducati 848 Challenge. After some strong results at Snetterton and Misano, a first win for the man from Liverpool seemed inevitable, and this weekend at the Ducati Manchester sponsored Oulton Park round he walked away with a maximum points haul. Robbie Brown (Ducati Manchester) could only manage a third and a second despite feeling good about his chances for a victory, but he won’t be getting too worried yet as he extended his lead over closest rival Darren Fry (Hirebase Ducati Coventry) to 62.5 points.

Church of MO: 2002 Ducati 998 First Ride

Post-916 and pre-999, Ducati hit a sweet spot in the form of the 998. Still taking the form of Massimo Tamburini’s 1994 masterwork, but powered by the greatly evolved Testastretta V-twin that powered Troy Bayliss to the 2001 World Superbike championship, the 999 was the best of old and new, the apogee of the 916 curve. Well, now it’s just old.