Moto blog
Anti clockwise Knockhill and riding in the North East with GP winners.
Wed, 06 Jun 2012I was both nervous and excited for my first ever reverse direction track day last week at Knockhill. From rushing downhill into the left hand off camber hairpin to sweeping up onto the start/finish, nothing bears any resemblance to riding round clockwise. I actually raced my 350LC in the opposite direction in 1982 but it still took a few laps to get my head round what essentially is a brand new track for Scotland.
Bob Collins to ride the 848 at Oulton
Wed, 06 Jun 2012Bob Collins will be riding the Ducati 848 Challenge VIP bike at Oulton Park BSB on the weekend of the 6th - 8th July. If you're into motorcycle racing, no doubt you'll have heard of Bob Collins. Former R6 Cup competitor 'Viagra Bob' as he was known, went on to win the Superstock 1000 cup in 2006 and then compete at the Isle of Man TT.
Ducati North America Sets New Monthly Sales Record
Mon, 04 Jun 2012Ducati North America set a new monthly sales record selling 1,782 motorcycles in May, easily surpassing its previous record of 1,394 units sold set in June 2008. Helping drive sales was the introduction of the new 2012 Ducati 1199 Panigale and the Streetfighter 848 last month. The two new models helped Ducati North America see a 49% year-on-year sales increase for the month.
2012 MotoCzysz E1PC Revealed on Isle of Man
Fri, 01 Jun 2012MotoCzysz unveiled what may be the most aerodynamically designed motorcycle ever produced … and we’re not just talking about electric bikes here. The covers were pulled from the 2012 MotoCzysz E1PC electric race bike ahead of the TT Zero electric race at the Isle of Man, revealing a sleek silver and red sportbike with aerodynamically curving wings and fins. The updated E1PC is MotoCzysz’s latest stab at claiming the 10,000 British pound bounty for being the first electric motorcycle to score an average speed of 100 mph on the Isle of Man’s Mountain Course.
Cappuccinos in the Desert – Ducati Opens High-End Lounge in Dubai
Wed, 30 May 2012Ducati has opened a new boutique restaurant lounge bar in Dubai, joining existing franchises in Rome, Shanghai and Bangkok. Like other Ducati Caffè franchises, the Dubai location offers Italian-style food and, of course, coffee, as well as Ducati merchandise. The lounge inhabits a two-floor, 4,400 square-foot unit in the Dubai mall.
WSBK: 2012 Miller Results
Tue, 29 May 2012Marco Melandri earned BMW its second ever World Superbike victory to move into second place in the championship standings behind Max Biaggi in the series’ only stop in the United States. Melandri won a red-flagged Race Two at Utah’s Miller Motorsports Park after finishing second to defending WSBK Champion Carlos Checa in Race One to give him 142.5 points on the season, tied with Kawasaki‘s Tom Sykes but behind Aprilia‘s Biaggi who leads the way with 160.5 points. Race One Highlights Get the Flash Player to see this player.
Ducati Temporarily Suspends Production after Second Earthquake
Tue, 29 May 2012Ducati has halted production in its factory in Bologna, Italy after the region was struck by a 5.8-magnitude earthquake this morning. The earthquake comes nine days after a 6.0-magnitude earthquake in the same area in northern Italy, killing seven people. Though the recent earthquake was lower in magnitude, it has already claimed a higher death toll with at least 15 people already confirmed dead.
848 Challenge: Official race report, Snetterton 300
Mon, 28 May 2012Mike Edwards put a disappointing start to the season behind him with a win and a second place at Round Three of the Ducati 848 Challenge at the Snetterton BSB weekend. With a gritty ride to victory in Race One and a late charge to third in Race Two, Edwards (Ohlins @ P&H Motorcycles) managed to keep his championship hopes alive following a run of uncharacteristic crashes at the last two rounds. Edwards said before Race One that he was going for a “win it or bin it” attitude this weekend as he desperately needed to make up the points he missed out on at Assen.
Ducati 1199 Panigale vs. Porsche 911 GT3 vs. Fighter Jet – Video
Mon, 28 May 2012Car versus motorcycle race videos are pretty ho-hum these days, so how do you spice things up? What about throwing a fighter jet into the mix? That’s what happened this weekend at Brno International Airport in the Czech Republic.
Ducati Celebrates 1 Million Facebook Likes – Video
Mon, 28 May 2012Facebook has been getting a bad rap of late with its recent IPO but that didn’t stop Ducati from celebrating its millionth “Like” on the official Ducati Facebook page. The Italian manufacturer marked the occasion with a video thanking its fans. The video is almost a real-life demonstration of how Facebook operates, following a first-person perspective of a fan visiting Ducati‘s headquarters in Bologna, Italy, and raising a thumb to “like” things he sees such the rows of L-Twin-powered motorcycles in the parking lot, Corse racebikes on display at the Ducati Museum, factory workers assembling a Ducati 1199 Panigale.