AMA Pro Racing News Release
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (November 7, 2011) - AMA Pro Racing is proud to announce the introduction of the XR Showdown, a $60,000 year-end points fund that…
Team Suzuki News Flash
CHINO, CA (November 7, 2011) - Yoshimura Racing and American Suzuki Motor Corporation are proud to announce plans for the 2012 AMA Pro Superbike Championship Series that…
Ducati Racing News Flash
After a positive first two days during the final round of the 2011 MotoGP season, the Ducati Team had an unfortunate and premature end to the Valencia…
Factory Yamaha Racing News Release
MOTOGP SEASON FINALE FREE PRACTICE: Yamaha Factory rider Ben Spies made it count this afternoon in difficult weather conditions to take third on the grid for…
It is with mixed emotions that Yamaha Factory Racing arrives in Valencia this weekend for the final Grand Prix of the 2011 season.
MotoGP’s tragic loss of rising star Marco Simoncelli…
After a positive first two days during the final round of the 2011 MotoGP season, the Ducati Team had an unfortunate and premature end to the Valencia Grand Prix, with riders Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden both being taken out of the race in a Turn 1 racing incident.
The American experienced pain and swelling in his right hand following the fall, but an X-ray in the mobile clinic didn’t reveal any fractures. Rossi and Hayden finish the season seventh and eight, respectively, in the final points standings.
A post-race test will take place at the Valencia circuit on this Tuesday and Wednesday.
Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team) DNF
“There’s really nothing to say about today, other than that I’m sorry beyond measure not to have been able to put on Sic’s T-shirt for the lap of honour. It’s truly a shame. I started well and all the conditions were in our favour for having a nice race, but we were unfortunate and received no points here either. We finish the season tied with Sic, with him ahead of me in the standings. I guess that’s my tribute to him!”
Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) DNF
“I felt some riders coming up the inside really fast as we approached Turn 1. Then something happened and it was just the domino effect—race over in the first corner. I’m okay other than my hand being pretty sore. It’s unfortunate. One of our bike’s strengths is generating heat in the tyres, and that’s what you need on a cold, wet track like this. Already on the warm-up lap, the bike felt good. It’s easy to say now, but I honestly feel like we could have put up a decent fight today and had some fun.”
Vittoriano Guareschi (Team Manager)
“Today I’m particularly sorry to have to talk about a race in which once again, we weren’t able to capitalize on our potential. In practice, both Vale and Nicky demonstrated that they were able to ride this track well in the conditions that we had for the race, but after they both started well, they really were victims of a classic first-turn crash. It happens, but it hurt Ducati worse than the others. There’s not much else to say. Now we’ll focus on the work that’s about to start for 2012.”
The qualifying session for the French Grand Prix saw Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden finish with the ninth- and tenth-best times, respectively. The Italian had a decent session, working well with his crew and steadily improving his bike’s setup, as well as his pace with hard tyres.
The final minutes, when it was time to mount the softer tyres, were less effective, however, because he wasn’t able to mantain the second row despite improving his performance. Nicky Hayden, who had posted the fourth-best time on Friday and was fifth-best this morning, went long in a corner during what had until then been a very fast lap, and he wasn’t subsequently able to improve.
“Naturally, we’re not happy with our position: it’s not good, because I had hoped to start from the second row. I’m pleased with the way we worked, though, as well as with how I rode, because I was finally able to ride well. We solved some problems, and we understood that other aspects of the setup weren’t going in the right direction, so we changed them.
I think this was our best qualifying session since I’ve been at Ducati, because with just a few minutes left, I was inside sixth place. Unfortunately, when the moment to use the softer tyre comes, we don’t take a big enough step, so tomorrow I’ll have to start from the third row, behind some riders who had a slower pace. We have a couple more ideas to try in the warm-up though, and if they work, we can do better in the race.
Nicky Hayden (Ducati MotoGP Team) 10th, 1:34.227
“This morning wasn’t bad, but I hoped for more in qualifying, for sure. The bike was working quite well at the pace I’ve been running, but when I tried to cut those last couple of tenths, it was moving around a lot. It’s unfortunate after being fourth yesterday and fifth this morning. I was hoping to be up a few spots, but I don’t really have a lot of excuses. I had a couple of good, clear laps, but I just didn’t put down the lap time I needed to. I’m starting tenth, and as bad as that sounds, it’s my best grid spot of the year. Anyway, tomorrow is what counts.”
MotoGP: Riding with characteristic grit and determination, Valentino Rossi finished the Grand Prix of Qatar in seventh place.
The Italian rider dueled with Ben Spies for sixth place as long as the strength in his still-healing shoulder allowed, and he managed to maintain a good pace to the end.
After starting from the fifth row, Nicky Hayden rode a comeback race, steadily increasing his pace and finishing ninth after a series of nice passes.
Valentino Rossi (Ducati MotoGP Team) 7th
“For sure we’re not here to get seventh-place finishes, but there are also positive things from this race, starting with the times, because we were lapping pretty quickly. I had a great start, and that was a nice feeling because the horsepower that this bike has really helps it to launch. Then I made a small error in the first turn, which is a shame because I got stuck behind Barbera for a few laps. Otherwise I would have been closer to Simoncelli and Dovizioso, since anyway there was a period when I lapped with them. I wouldn’t have beaten them though, because at the end of the race, I’m no longer able to ride like I have to.
I’m not referring to the Ducati because even last year, after I hurt my shoulder, I had the same problems in the latter parts of the races, and since the two bikes are so different, it means that it’s really a matter of me not being physically right. It’s not just that. We also have to improve the bike because the others have clearly made a step forward since last year. Still, I learned a lot in this test and in this race, and we’ve already given very specific instructions about what must be done in the long term, in order to improve for the second half of the season for example. In the near term, on the other hand, we’ll work on the setup, we’ll keep gathering experience, and I’ll continue exercising and doing everything I can to recuperate physically.”
MotoGP: The MotoGP World Championship will start on Thursday at Losail International Circuit, with the first free-practice sessions planned for 6:00 p.m. for the 125cc class, 6:55 p.m. for Moto2, and 7:55 for MotoGP.
Although the usual work of preparing for the Grand Prix has begun at the circuit, the entire paddock is closely following the news on the terrible moment that Japan is currently experiencing. On Tuesday, the International Motorcycling Federation made the official announcement that the Motegi Grand Prix, originally scheduled for 24 April, has been postponed to 2 October. Every member of the Ducati MotoGP Team wishes the best for the colleagues of the paddock’s sizeable Japanese contingent.
For the team and for Ducati, tomorrow is doubly important because March 17 is when Italy will celebrate the 150th anniversary of Italy’s unification. Since January, the fairings of Valentino Rossi’s and Nicky Hayden’s Ducati Desmosedici GP11s have worn the official logo created for this event: three waving Italian flags representing the three Jubilees of 1911, 1961, 2011 , a link between generations.
VALENTINO ROSSI, Ducati MotoGP Team
“For the first practice session in Qatar, we’ll start with the settings that we found on the last day of the test, because our final lap time notwithstanding, they weren’t bad. In fact, I think I could have gone faster if the strength hadn’t left my shoulder almost without warning before I had even tried the soft tires. The race weekend has sessions of 45 minutes and one hour, so it should be easier from that point of view. Naturally, my shoulder isn’t the only issue: if we want to have a good race, we know that in addition to me being physically ready, we’ll have to find some solutions that will help us be faster and improve our pace. In any event, the debut with Ducati brings a lot of motivation, and Sunday will definitely be very emotional. A greeting to all the Italians who will be celebrating the 150th year of Italy’s unification tomorrow: we know there are a lot of you supporting us, and although we probably won’t yet be at our best by Sunday, we’ll give it our best effort. I’m also thinking of everyone in Japan who is living through this very difficult moment. What happened is truly frightening, but Japan’s people are very strong and capable of reacting. We’re all behind you.”
NICKY HAYDEN, Ducati MotoGP Team
“Well, it’s time to go racing now! We obviously wouldn’t have minded a bit more testing, but I’m looking forward to starting another season. We’ll have four days here for the race weekend, so there’s still time to check some more options. During the test, there were parts of the track where I was pretty fast, and a couple of long, fast corners where I was losing a pretty good chunk of time. Our focus will be to try and get the bike to steer a bit better through those spots. Hopefully as the track gets cleaned up more, it will help us a bit more than some of the others. Everyone is really tight on times, and I think that’s pretty cool. I like how competitive it is, and we know it’s going to be like that all season. Finally, I’d like to let everyone in Japan know the world is with them in this difficult time. I’ve worked with many Japanese companies over the years, so I have a lot of friends and fans there. Stay strong; we’re thinking of you”.
MOTOGP: The final pre-season MotoGP test session was completed tonight in chilly, windy conditions at Qatar’s Losail International Circuit, where Ducati MotoGP Team riders Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi lowered their lap times from last night.
The team will still be working hard to make up ground when practice for the first round of the world championship starts in two days, with the race scheduled for March 20.
Nicky Hayden (Ducati MotoGP Team) 9th, 1:56.726 (68 laps)
“When we got here this afternoon, I wasn’t sure how much riding we were going to get to do, because the wind was really gusting. It started dying down about the time we started, though, and they did a good job of cleaning the track. We tried some different options and got a little bit better, but not like we really wanted to.
I did two longer runs and was able to string together some laps at a decent pace, on both hard and soft tyres. I ended the day with a crash in Turn 2, where a lot of guys have gone down this week. I just lost the front end. Anyway, that’s enough testing, because this weekend it will really mean something. We know it’s going to be a tough one, because everyone is pushing so hard, but we’ll do our best to come in here and make a good showing.”
Valentino Rossi (Ducati MotoGP Team) 13th, 1:56.988 (50 laps)
“I’d say that today was pretty challenging: the weather conditions were much tougher than yesterday, and I had another crash when I slipped on a white line. Fortunately, I just fell over on the ground—it was nothing serious. The real problem was that at about an hour and a half from the finish, I started to lose strength in my shoulder, and I just couldn’t push anymore. It’s a shame, because I had just done my best time, and I may have been able to drop it a little more from there.
Instead, we didn’t even mount the two soft tyres that we had. I started on a long run, but I stopped because I was losing tenths lap after lap. Let’s say that we’re not as far back as it looks, although we still have a lot of work to do, regarding both the bike and myself, because the shoulder is evidently not yet able to bear two such intense days of testing. Between now and Thursday, I’ll do some light exercise and have it massaged, and then we’ll see.”
The Ducati MotoGP Team concluded the second Malaysian test with the knowledge that important work awaits them over the two weeks before the next outing, in Qatar.
After a positive start, the progress was slower than what the team had hoped for, with Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden finishing the third day 11th and 12th, respectively.
The Italian rider lost an entire day of testing, as he spent Wednesday in bed with a bad flu. Today he was back aboard the GP11, but despite hard work with his crew and lowering his best time compared to Tuesday, the necessary margin of improvement is still significant.
Nicky Hayden had similar difficulty making steps forward, despite his feeling with the bike improving steadily over the three days.
Next the team will meet with its fans on March 4 in Bologna.
After that, the riders will be back on track on March 13 and 14 at Qatar’s Losail International Circuit for the final winter test, prior to the MotoGP season opener at the same venue.
Valentino Rossi (Ducati MotoGP Team)
11th, 2:01.469 (59 laps) “We can’t be satisfied with this test because we didn’t reach our goals, which were to finish close to the top six and especially to reduce the gap to the front. Instead, we’re 1.8 seconds back, and our rhythm is also lacking. After the first day, we thought we could do it. We had started well and were able to make the bike work with the hard tyres, which is good. After that though, we didn’t take steps forward. Although we have some good ideas for the electronics that I’m optimistic will solve those problems relatively easily, I’m not as confident about the chassis setup.
When you choose to ride the Monster, you are not just choosing a bike, but an entire lifestyle. A desire to experience the exhilaration of naked power from an iconic motorcycle.
Ducati Monster 696 Features:
APTC Clutch
The APTC ‘wet’ clutch gives a ‘slipper’ type action that prevents destabilizing of the rear-end under aggressive down-shifting and also gives the extra benefit of a super-light feel at the lever, a great benefit in stop-start city traffic or during longer journeys.
The 21-plate oil-bath clutch (11 friction and 10 steel) represents a power-enhancing weight reduction over the ‘dry’ system as well as having a quieter operation and requiring less maintenance.
Lightweight Crankcases
The new crankcases hug the gearbox internals much closer to create a smaller and more compact outer profile and achieve considerable weight savings over previous cases.
Power & torque curves: The Monster 696 produces 80hp (58,8kW) @ 9,000rpm and 50,6lb-ft (7,0kgm) of torque @ 7,750rpm
Desmodue
The engine of the Monster 696 is the legendary Desmodue, 696cc, air cooled, Dual Spark L-Twin engine whose 80hp gives it that unmistakable Ducati sound. Developed for an incredibly flexible power delivery, the 696 Desmodromic engine provides enough torque to exit the most challenging of corners. The impressive torque, typical of the Ducati L-Twin engines, will excite with every twist of the throttle.
exhaust system
Providing a deep and rich exhaust tone within current noise and emissions regulations is no mean feat, but the Monster 696 definitely provides the L-Twin sound famous of Ducati. Its bold, high-level twin mufflers also make a striking style statement.
The exhaust system on the 696 has one Lambda probe dedicated to each cylinder, enabling precise fuelling for a smoother power delivery as well as complying with current emission regulations.
The 1100EVO SP takes the Hypermotard concept to a new level of extreme. Higher ground clearance, higher spec suspension, higher bars and less weight makes the SP track-ready for action.
The Hypermotard 1100EVO SP takes the whole Hypermotard concept to a new level of extreme.
Higher ground clearance, higher spec suspension, higher bars and even less weight makes the 1100EVO SP trackready for action.
When Ducati first launched the Hypermotard project they knew that there would be extreme riders out there who wanted more – they just didn’t realise there would be so many!
With a racing heritage built on direct rider feed-back and a Hypermotard category in the Italian Ducati Desmo Challenge series, Ducati’s reputation for listening to owners to improve their motorcycles has become legendary and the Hypermotard 1100EVO SP is no exception.
Extreme riders all wanted the same thing from the Hypermotard: More power, more ground clearance, more control in extreme situations, more detail and less weight. With the Hypermotard 1100EVO SP, the engineers have ticked all the boxes.
The 1100EVO SP takes the whole Hypermotard concept to a new level of extreme. Higher ground clearance, higher spec suspension, higher bars and even less weight makes the SP track-ready for action and impressive enough to wear the Ducati Corse logo.
When we first launched the Hypermotard project we knew that there would be extreme riders out there who wanted more – we just didn’t realise there would be so many! With a racing heritage built on direct rider feed-back, and two years of Hypermotard category in our Italian-based Ducati Desmo Challenge series, we’ve built a reputation for listening to owners and the new SP spec is the result.
The American experienced pain and swelling in his right hand following the fall, but an X-ray in the mobile clinic didn’t reveal any fractures. Rossi and Hayden finish the season seventh and eight, respectively, in the final points standings.
After starting from the fifth row, Nicky Hayden rode a comeback race, steadily increasing his pace and finishing ninth after a series of nice passes.
After a positive start, the progress was slower than what the team had hoped for, with Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden finishing the third day 11th and 12th, respectively.
Ducati Monster 696 Features:
The Hypermotard 1100EVO SP takes the whole Hypermotard concept to a new level of extreme.