Claudio Domenicali Unveils New Ducati Desmosedici GP10 at WROOOM

There was a packed schedule again on the second day of Wrooom 2010 at Madonna di Campiglio today, with Claudio Domenicali coming under the spotlight in this morning's press conference. The General Manager of Ducati Motor later joined Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden on the spectacular Patascoss slope to unveil the new Ducati Desmosedici GP10, the Ducati Marlboro Team's latest weapon in the chase for the MotoGP title, against the dramatic backdrop of the Dolomites - recently added by Unesco to their World Natural Heritage list.

 

“Faith is the key word that Ducati are using in looking ahead to 2010, in a variety of aspects,” said Domenicali. "We have a team that certainly makes us think we can approach the championship with great hope. Nicky and Casey are two riders who don’t need any type of introduction. We have faith in the company, because it has a solid, stable base in the Bonomi family, and it’s a company that has managed 2009 well: the motorcycle market had a big decline in 2009 — the market declined by over 30 percent, a very heavy, difficult amount. But our company managed very well and we dropped 'only' 18 percent. In fact, in 2009, we had the largest share that the company has ever enjoyed historically. So also from the economic point of view, the company knew how to control very carefully its costs and manage 2009 well. For example, we didn’t cut or eliminate any development of future models, something that’s fundamental for the future health of the company. We have faith in the championship, because I see that Carmelo Ezpeleta (CEO, Dorna Sports) — here with us — has come through a truly difficult moment, with great character. He’s always been present in person, and he’s somebody with whom you can have a relationship and a dialogue, so it’s very important for our company to be present in a championship run in this manner and Carmelo is thanked personally for this. We have faith in our sponsors, because 2009, as I said, has been very difficult and yet we’ve managed to continue to work very well with them. We have a very important main sponsor in Marlboro and other important partners like Telecom, Generali, Enel, Riello ups, that have been with us and grown with us over a long period of time. We also have faith in the media, who are well represented in this sport.”

Domenicali continued by discussing the recent changes to Ducati Marlboro Team management.

"2009 was a year — even from a sporting perspective — that was difficult and complicated. Nicky found things harder than he or we expected but he gave us a great lesson because he never lost his good attitude, he always had a spirit of great optimism and positivity. We were able to put at his disposition a bike that permitted him to obtain results that were in line with his talent. He gave us a podium at Indianapolis and he kept improving the whole season. Casey was very fast from the start, as he always is, and had great potential. Of course what happened at mid-season affected the season, but I believe that everyone — from Casey to us — has described what happened and clarified it so it seems useless for me to continue to give details. The important thing, in my opinion, is that today we have Casey with us, probably in the best health we’ve ever seen him. We have reason for optimism for both riders. There have also been some changes to the management, with Alessandro Cicognani and Vittoriano Guareschi coming in, having shown themselves in the team to have competence and perhaps even bring things that were missing. It’s I believe that this important change leaves the company in a solid situation, also because it’s in some way personalized by an incredible talent as Filippo Preziosi, who is the true engine of all our racing activities, and he remains safe, solid, and dedicated. I believe it’s a change in the continuity, if we can define it that way.

And, of course, he detailed some of the main changes to the Ducati Desmosedici GP10.

 

"The main changes to the bike are based on the rule changes, so the major part of the work was done precisely to make it perform better using only six engines for the entire championship. It’s a very important difference, because we were used to using more-or-less one engine per race, so to switch from eighteen engines to six is a very important adjustment. To go 1,600 kilometers with an engine that goes over 19,000 rpm isn’t a simple assignment. All of the main parts were redesigned — pistons, rods, crankshaft, the basics. It’s an engine with which our main objective was to minimize the loss of power to increase durability. It was a change that will be very useful and interesting, also because normally in racing, durability isn’t the principal objective. Perhaps this new objective has enabled us to perform a series of experiments that will also be interesting for the new production engines that we’re developing because at this point they become almost comparable. For a production engine, 2,000 kilometers of track use is a severe challenge so we start to think that the race engine durability is comparable with production engines. The second big news isn’t related to the rules, but to our attempt to make the bike more rideable. This has to do with the firing order. We have a motor that, since the switch to 800s, utilized a screamer setup. This has permitted us to have maximum power, which was very important and was probably fundamental with the results that we’ve had in 2007, 2008 and 2009, but at a certain point, we began to wonder whether it could be worthwhile to re-test a way that we’d already followed in the past. The last 1000cc motors that we made in 2005 and 2006 used a big-bang firing order, and this gave us important rideability. We re-tested that way, first trying it on the dyno, then with Vittoriano Guareschi in his previous role as test rider and then with Nicky and Casey. We think we have a bike for 2010 with better traction, and that therefore makes it easier for us to find a good setup. Another part of the work was dedicated to the chassis. In the pursuit of ease of use, we’ve worked to eliminate the bike’s squatting, which is why the entire rear portion of the bike was redesigned. This bike has a rear structure that carries the rider — which we call the seat support — and that also supports the swingarm. That part was redesigned to have six mounting points instead of four; this makes the bike more rigid in a way and it guarantees better rideability and improved rigidity. With respect to the bike we introduced last year, this bike is also aesthetically different because of the redesigned fairing but we already saw that at Estoril."

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Fiat Yamaha MotorGP Bike

Yamaha YZR-M1 is an 800 cc motorcycle specifically developed by Yamaha Motor Company to compete in the 2009 MotoGP series. It was originally developed with a 990 cc engine. Yamaha YZR-M1 has been continuously developed into several iterations, primarily to improve acceleration out of slow corners.

Make sure the Preserve Stoner Ducati, Ready to Attract Rossi

MotoGP 2010 season had not yet begun, but the president Ducati Gabriele Del Torchio as well as the general manager Claudio Domenicali, has faced questions about the line-up of the Italian team in the 2011 season. The reason, in the coming year the big four contract MotoGP - Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha), Casey Stoner (Ducati) and Dani Pedrosa (Honda) - ended.

Now, with respect thereto, will appear to pick up rumors Ducati Rossi, seven times world champion at this prestigious class. Moreover, del Torchio did not deny the possibility of his team to pick up "The Doctor". "Why not?" revealed in the GPOne.com Torchio, about it.

If recruitment Rossi still question marks, bold Ducati ensure that they maintain Stoner. "The Red" did not want to lose pebalap Australia, which does have the best ability to "tame the wildness" Ducati, which is indicated by the title of world champion in 2007 - and has recorded a total of 20 victories with Ducati in the last three years.

No wonder the greatness Domenicali Stoner praises, because according to him, the former 2007 world champion from Australia is pebalap most talented in the world, so there was no reason for his team to take off Stoner. And, Domenicali also did not close the possibility to defend Hayden, although the door remains open for Rossi.

"Only a fool would doubt the ability of Stoner. In addition to talent, he also pebalap strongest in the world," the website quoted the Italian Domenicali. "Meanwhile, Nicky has taught us a lot of amazing things:" Never give up ', which reminds us to Fogarty.

"But it's true that they all ended contracts this year," he added. "The most important thing is to keep Casey ... Could we have Casey and Rossi? It may have happened. (It's like having) Maradona and Platini on the same team. The coach must have loved it!

"We also want to continue to work with Casey and Nicky," said Domenicali.

Indeed, rumors Rossi will join the Ducati blew harder as the year-ago pebalap Italy is talking to the BBC. He "threatened" Yamaha to immediately decide, defend himself or Lorenzo the 2011 season. However, Rossi tried to straighten out the statement, that there was a misunderstanding over his comments.

In fact, when he left Honda in 2003, Rossi has also had to be sought after Ducati. But "The Doctor" choosing to join the Yamaha, because he considered the contract terms Ducati / Marlboro too restrictive.

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Rossi v Biaggi: Bitter rivals

 

 12 January 2010

One of the most memorable personal rivalries in the history of the premier class, motogp.com charts the intensity of the Italian duo’s volatile relationship.

Italian riders Valentino Rossi and Max Biaggi brought excitement and a deep dislike of one another to the MotoGP scene in the early 2000s, as they fought in every sense for the right to be crowned World Champion.
Their rivalry began in the late 90s before they had even started to race in the same category, and by the time they competed against one another in the premier class in the 2000 season the battle lines had been drawn.
Completely different mentalities in both living and racing, Rossi and Biaggi divided fans as they rode for different teams in their individual quests to take the MotoGP crown.
MotoGP commentator Nick Harris sums up perfectly the tension that had been building between the pair, and continued to do so throughout their contests after the battle lines were drawn following an infamous incident at Suzuka in the 2001 Japanese Grand Prix.
“You knew the conflict that had been simmering, not so much on the track because they had not ridden together that much because Rossi had just arrived in the 500cc class the year before, but it transferred onto the track and you knew it was going to take off from that moment; it was brilliant!” explained Harris.
In the attached video you can watch interviews with Harris, Rossi and Biaggi and Carlo Pernat, former manager of both riders, as well as the best footage of their electrifying clashes.
Tomorrow, motogp.com relives the magnificent duel between Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo at the 2009 Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya.

Valencia test finishes with Stoner fastest on day three

The final day of the post-season test at Valencia concluded with Casey Stoner the fastest rider at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit.

Casey Stoner led the lap times in the final day’s session of the Valencia test on Wednesday, as he finished the first phase of the fine-tuning of his Ducati Desmosedici machine with a best time of 1’31.900.
Testing new forks and a revised engine configuration on his factory prototype before the test was wrapped up at 1pm, Stoner put in 35 laps during the session, with his top time placing him 0.044s ahead of Dani Pedrosa.
Pedrosa, who has been testing Ohlins suspension on his 2010 RC212V prototype, was the only other rider to break the 1’32” barrier, with Stoner’s team-mate Nicky Hayden completing what has been a strong test for the Ducati factory bikes as he ranked third fastest, just under a second off his Australian colleague’s pace.
Andrea Dovizioso made a vast improvement on his previous two days’ work as he also came within a second of Stoner’s marker, completing a good final session for the factory Honda team.
Continuing his re-acquaintance with the Honda RC212V, Marco Melandri finished fifth quickest for the San Carlo Honda Gresini team. The new aluminium swing arm used by Mika Kallio helped the Finn continue well on his Pramac Ducati, with new team-mate Aleix Espargaró also enjoying the last day of the test as his best lap saw him rank seventh-fastest as he took in 55 laps.
Loris Capirossi completed 43 turns on his Suzuki, while Héctor Barberá led the 250cc graduates with a best time of 1’33.787 on his Aspar Ducati, lapping at just under 1.9s off Stoner. Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini), Álvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki) and Hiroshi Aoyama (Interwetten Honda MotoGP) were also present on the final morning of testing at Valencia as well.

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Update to 2010 provisional MotoGP calendar

The FIM have announced that the provisional date of the 2010 Czech Republic Grand Prix has been moved to August 15th.

The FIM have today announced an amendment to the provisional calendar for the 2010 MotoGP World Championship, with the Czech Republic Grand Prix to be held a week earlier than originally scheduled.

Date Grand Prix (Circuit)

April 11th* Qatar (Losail)
April 25th Japan (Motegi)
May 2nd Spain (Jerez)
May 23rd France (Le Mans)
June 6th Italy (Mugello)
June 20th Great Britain (Silverstone)
June 26th** Netherlands (Assen)
July 4th Catalunya (Catalunya)
July 18th Germany (Sachsenring)
July 25th*** United States (Laguna Seca)
August 15th Czech Republic (Brno)
August 29th Indianapolis (Indianapolis)
September 5th San Marino & Riviera di Rimini (Misano)
September 19th Hungary (Balatonring)
October 10th Malaysia (Sepang)
October 17th Australia (Phillip Island)
October 31st Portugal (Estoril)
November 7th Valencia (Ricardo Tormo Valencia)
Reserve Circuit: Motorland Aragon Circuit
* Evening race
** Saturday race
*** Only MotoGP class
Calendar still subject to changes

Valentino Rossi enjoys trip to India

The 2009 MotoGP World Champion completes a two-day visit, attending the 10th Auto Expo in New Delhi.

Valentino Rossi made the first visit of his career to India over the weekend, appearing at Asia’s biggest motor show in New Delhi.
On Saturday, the Italian met India Yamaha Motor’s senior management Mr Yukimine Tsuji, CEO and Managing Director of India Yamaha Motor, and Pankaj Dubey, National Business Head of India Yamaha Motor on stage at the 10th Auto Expo, in front of 300 selected guests which comprised dealers and media.
Rossi greeted guests, signed autographs and inspected the latest India Yamaha models as over 1000 fans turned up to see him, following his ninth World Championship title which he secured last year.
A press conference and interviews with the media were undertaken on Sunday, as Rossi was joined by Masao Furusawa, Executive Officer for Engineering Operations at Yamaha Motor Company. Rossi rounded off his two-day trip by meeting John Abraham, one of India’s biggest film stars and also an ambassador for Yamaha India.
“This is my very first visit to India and I am impressed by the beauty of this country, although sadly I did not have much time to visit Delhi,” Rossi said. “I hope to be able to come back soon and have more time to enjoy this place. Yamaha has been doing great things here and the positive response from the market is the evidence that they have been going in the right direction. The new models YZF-R15 and FZ16, which are less-powerful replicas of the R1 and the Fazer, are definitely appropriate for this market and for the characteristics of the traffic here in India. In fact I am amazed at the traffic and the incredible numbers of cars and bikes on the road all the time, by day and night!”
Rossi continued, “It was great to see John Abraham, I met him a few years ago when he came to a race so it was nice to see him in his own country, where he is very famous! I'm flying home now but it has been a very good trip; I am happy to have so many fans here in India and I hope that one day we will have the chance to race here.”
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Stoner and Hayden enjoy Wrooom 2010 opening

Ducati Marlboro riders set for a week of events in the Italian Alp ski resort of Madonna di Campiglio.

The Wrooom Press Ski Meeting 2010 officially opened on Monday, in a week that traditionally combines spectacle, sport and meetings with the international press in Madonna di Campiglio’s magnificent Dolomites.
Events will get underway on Tuesday, with press conferences with the two Ducati MotoGP Team riders, Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden.
On Wednesday it will be the turn of Claudio Domenicali, General Manager of Ducati Motor Holding, with another key moment being the official presentation of the Ducati Desmosedici GP 10.
The week will also include events dedicated to the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro team, with drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa and test driver Giancarlo Fisichella all present, and proceedings will conclude on Friday.motogp

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