Moto GP 2014 Ducati vision

The former Aprilia chief is at Valencia and spoke about how he intends to change the organisation of Ducati Corse before he looks at the technical areas of company - but confirmed there would be a 'completely different' bike by the time the Sepang tests come around in February.

"It is not an easy job. Ducati come from two or three really difficult years so we have to change a lot to improve everything. I will start with the organisation because when I came here I realised there are two completely different units inside Ducati Corse - the racetrack unit and the people that work in Bologna," said Dall'Igna, speaking at Valencia.

"The first job is to join those properly so the information flows from the track to the people in Bologna well and fast to improve the bike as soon as possible. We will re-organise Ducati Corse and give to people at the track important job in Ducati, so it is easy to share information between parts.

"Ducati have a lot of racing knowledge in general. That means not only electronics or engine but the chassis also. I hope we will improve in the chassis and I hope we can find a way to put Ducati in the position everyone wants.

"I want to check the problems the bike have at the moment and I have to work to improve that. We can check if something different is better than the systems we use now.

"We have to improve the bike we are using now and the bike that will on the track at Sepang will be completely different. If we have to produce something completely different in the future, then we will do that.

"It seems the most important problems are in the chassis but improvements on the engine will also count. For me, the Desmodromic is a good system so I don't see any reason to change it.

"MotoGP is the most important class in racing. For sure we would like to improve that as soon as possible, but on the other hand the Superbike is part of the history of Ducati so we have to work also in that area."

Read the original article on bikesportnews.com

Repsol Honda 2013

Repsol Honda rookie, Marc Marquez, has won the 2013 MotoGP World Championship by taking 3rd place in the final race of the season in Valencia. Teammate Dani Pedrosa took second to complete the team's eleventh double podium of the season and claim Honda's 62nd


Constructor's Championship in the premier class. The race began with Lorenzo taking the lead and trying to bunch up the field. Dani pursued him and attempted several passes, but was unable to make them stick. At the beginning of lap 10, Dani and Lorenzo touched briefly and this allowed Marc to come through and take the lead with Dani dropping to 5th. Lorenzo would not give up so easy and on lap 11 he re-passed Marc. By lap 14 Dani was back up to 3rd and closing in on Marc. Dani recorded a new lap record on lap 22 with 1'31.628 and passed the young rookie on lap 26.

 With just 4 laps remaining Marc, showed maturity and patience, knowing that his position was enough to claim the Championship. He passed the line in 3rd place and took his first MotoGP crown on his maiden year, becoming the youngest rookie at 20 years 266 days to win the Championship. 　

 Comment

DANI PEDROSA – 2nd - World Championship Position: 3rd with 300 points "The race was difficult at the start because of the overtaking moves between myself and Jorge. However, we fought to the limit until I was taken a little off the track and lost ground as a result. Above all, I want to congratulate Marc today. He has done an excellent job this season and had a great campaign. We should take our hats off to him because he has achieved something historic; to win the MotoGP title as a rookie is incredible"


 MARC MARQUEZ – 3rd - World Championship Position: 1st with 334 points "It was a really long race, maybe the longest of my career! At the start I was very nervous, I know I said I wasn't but if I'm honest I really was. Jorge had a very good start, as usual, and I wasn't sure which tactic to take. I followed Jorge and Dani and began to settle into the race. Then towards the end, I decided not to push as I knew my position was secure and safe to take the Championship. It has been a fantastic year, I am still in a dream! I really didn't expect this at the beginning and I am really so very happy. So thank you to all my team, my family and of course Honda and all our sponsors. The support from everyone and all my fans around the World has been incredible and I dedicate this Championship to you all!"

Arai Japan Rare Products Yamaha Racing Special Helmets

Arai Japan & Yamaha Japan, limited product!

Further information is available at their web sites.

Click Here !

Superbike Phillip Island 2013 Q1

A close battled Qualifying 1 put an end to the first World Superbike day of 2013. The session was held under the clear skies of Phillip Island, with perfect temperatures and average winds blowing inland. Michel Fabrizio (Red Devils Roma Aprilia), after being the fastest rider of Free Practice 1, topped once again the timesheets thanks to a 1’31.317 lap-time, ahead of works Aprilia rider Eugene Laverty.

Michel Fabrizio: “We are working very well. I’m not fully satisfied yet because we still need to find the perfect set up for the race distance. Hopefully we’ll get it sorted tomorrow, and we’ll be ready for Sunday. Conditions were a bit more difficult during the afternoon compared to the morning, due primarily to the wind that made changing direction harder. Last Monday I was hit by a seagull on my arm while I was on the straight and I am still feeling the pain. I can say though, that we’re on the right direction. We’re planning on doing some small adjustments for tomorrow and these will hopefully make us improve further.”

Eugene Laverty: “This morning we weren't extremely fast, but in the afternoon we made some changes on my RSV4 to adapt it to the conditions and we took a big step forward. My single lap is good, but the key is to maintain consistency for the entire race. There are a lot of riders who don't stand out in the single lap but they've got an excellent race pace, and we're also doing well in that department. I don't have any particular problems and even when I'm lapping fast I'm careful not to wear the tyres quickly so that helps me to be consistent”.

The session was characterized by very competitive and balanced performances on track, considering the top-13 riders within a second and the five brands in the first seven positions. Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK) showed good form by finishing third, followed by Leon Camier (FIXI Crescent Suzuki), his team mate Chaz Davies, Leon Haslam (Pata Honda World Superbike) and 2012 runner-up Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team).

Carlos Checa (Ducati Team Alstare) was on track this afternoon despite the spectacular crash he had in Free Practice 1 at Turn 5. The Spaniard ended the session in 12th position - after completing only 7 laps – ahead of Max Neukirchner (MR-Racing Ducati).

Times:1. Fabrizio (Aprilia) 1'31.317 average 175.236 kph; 2. Laverty (Aprilia) 1'31.392; 3. Melandri (BMW) 1'31.539; 4. Camier (Suzuki) 1'31.608; 5. Davies (BMW) 1'31.638; 6. Haslam (Honda) 1'31.687; 7.Sykes (Kawasaki) 1'31.754; 8. Giugliano (Aprilia) 1'31.793; 9. Guintoli (Aprilia) 1'31.863; 10. Rea (Honda) 1'31.884; 11. Stauffer (Honda) 1'31.984; 12. Checa (Ducati) 1'32.063; 13. Neukirchner (Ducati) 1'32.243; 14. Allerton (BMW) 1'32.352; 15. Baz (Kawasaki) 1'32.497; 16. Badovini (Ducati) 1'32.540; 17. Clementi (BMW) 1'32.757; 18. Cluzel (Suzuki) 1'32.801; 19. Sandi (Kawasaki) 1'32.898; 20. Iannuzzo (BMW) 1'33.082; 21.Lundh (Kawasaki) 1'33.305.

World Supersport - Lowes makes the difference today at Phillip Island

An astonishing 1’32.545 lap-time was set today by Sam Lowes in World Supersport Qualifying 1, that put the Yakhnich Motorsport Yamaha rider on top of the timesheets and set a new standard for the recently resurfaced Phillip Island Circuit. As a difference from today’s first session, Kenan Sofuoglu (MAHI Racing Team India Kawasaki) could not nearly match the superb performance of Lowes and finished once again with a solid 2nd place, with a 1.119 gap from his rival.

ParkinGO MV Agusta Corse Roberto Rolfo makes a big step forward by finishing QP1 on third place, ahead of rookies Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Supersport) and Jack Kennedy (Rivamoto Honda).  Andrea Antonelli (Team Goeleven Kawasaki) and van der Mark’s team mate Lorenzo Zanetti enter the top-10 as sixth and seventh respectively, followed by Massimo Roccoli (Team Pata by Martini Yamaha) and the two British riders Kev Coghlan (Kawasaki DMC-Lorenzini) and Christian Iddon (ParkinGO MV Agusta Corse).

The session started with some drops of rain falling on parts of the track, temperatures were overall ideal with 28° C in the air and 43° C on the track.

Times:1. Lowes (Yamaha) 1'32.545 average 172.910 kph; 2.Sofuoglu (Kawasaki) 1'33.664; 3. Rolfo (MV Agusta) 1'34.081; 4. Vd Mark (Honda) 1'34.106; 5. Kennedy (Honda) 1'34.143; 6. Antonelli (Kawasaki) 1'34.359; 7. Zanetti (Honda) 1'34.465; 8. Roccoli (Yamaha) 1'34.466; 9. Coghlan (Kawasaki) 1'34.484; 10.Iddon (MV Agusta) 1'34.551; etc.

Communication Worldsbk - www.worldsbk.com -