Ducati Announces Pikes Peak International Hill Climb Team with Carlin Dunne & Greg Tracy

Ducati has announced its factory team for the 2012 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC), and the Italian company has secured the services of last-year’s winner and Rookie of the Year Carlin Dunne as well as six-time PPIHC winner Greg Tracy. Ducati has also partnered with the Spider Grips team, who will help prepare the teams Ducati Multistrada 1200 for the “Race to the Clouds” on July 8th. For 2012, the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb will be fully-paved to the top of the mountain, which will surely see the speeds of competitors increase, and lap times drop on the 12.42 mile long course that ends at 14,110 feet.

Cutaway Photos of the Ducati Superquadro Engine

I was flipping through some photos from the 2011 EICMA show, and found these shots of the Ducati 1199 Panigale’s Superquadro engine. Unfortunately at the show, Ducati had its 1199cc v-twin motor behind a Lexan case, which created a bit of a glare, reflections, and of course had smudges from the touchy-feely Italian crowd. But still, the photos give a good idea of what’s going on in Ducati’s most-advanced production engine to date, and are better than just looking at the CAD renders. If you look at the shots very closely, you can almost see where the 195hp and 98 lbs•ft of torque is lurking inside.

AGV, Please Make This Helmet!

In addition to testing the factory Ducati Desmosedici GP12 “Phoenix” this week at Sepang, Valentino Rossi is also trying out a new lid from AGV. Aside from the carbon fiber goodness, and of course the Rossi stickers (which add 5hp & $200), AGV’s prototype helmet sports a noticably pronounced rear spoiler. Tucked in behind the windscreen, it is obvious why the Italian helmet manufacturer designed such a large protrusion off the back of the prototype helmet, as it looks to be clearly helping the flow off the back of the helmet, across the rider’s hump, and down his backside.

2012 Honda RC213V Debuts in Malaysia

While Ducati Corse is busy playing hide-the-Desmosedici at Sepang, HRC is all business in Malaysia this week, and has debuted its 2012 Honda RC213V MotoGP-contender. Honda isn’t saying too much about the RC213V, simply stating that the race bike is all new, but is also a continuation of the company’s design with the 800cc Honda RC212V. Testing the Honda RC213V over the course of last season, reigning-World Champion Casey rode the new 1,000cc machine three times in 2011, while teammate Dani Pedrosa swung a leg over the RC213V twice (missing one test because of injury).

No, This is the “90%” New Ducati Desmosedici GP12

You may have been misled by some eager journalists today and yesterday, if you saw a Ducati Corse livery-clad Ducati Desmosedici GP12 that some sites were passing off as the first shots of the “90% new” GP12. With the alleged new GP12 looking surprisingly similar to the aluminum-framed “GP0″ that was tested at Valencia, Valentino Rossi’s mechanic has now Alex Briggs confirmed that the photos taken were not of the all new “GP12 Phoenix” that the factory team will race this season. While the Ducati lords can taketh away, they can also giveth, and Valentino Rossi himself has posted the first photo of the factory Desmosedici GP12, and the bike is clearly different.

Zero Motorcycles Commences 2012 Model Line Production

Zero Motorcycles has announced the full-commencement of production for its 2012 model line, which is expected to hit dealers in February & March of this year. First off the line was the 2012 Zero DS back in December, though the electric motorcycle company has recently started building the Zero S, Zero XU, Zero X, and Zero MX at its Scotts Valley facility as well. A story we broke back in November, Zero Motorcycles debuted its important 2012 electric motorcycle line up at the 2011 EICMA show in Milan, with the 2012 range being a substantial improvement upon the company’s previous offerings.

The Dainese D-Air Racing Airbag Suit Comes to America

Getting a look at Dainese & AGV’s 2012 collection, Asphalt & Rubber was down in Orange County earlier this week to see the highly anticipated Dainese D-Air Racing leather suit, which has a four liter airbag system that helps reduce the risk of injury during a motorcycle crash. Dainese has been working on the D-Air Racing system for 10 years now, and after soft-launching the airbag suit in Europe, the Italian company is ready to bring the game-changing technology to American soil.

I Love the Nightlife. I’ve Come to Boogie.

Us Danes, we’re a strange breed. From the culture that taught you how to rape and pillage, Scandinavia is making yet another contribution to the motorcycling world with this latest video. Featuring Danish Supermoto Champion Andreas Mikkelsen, we get a RoToR camera-esque perspective (this rig is actually home made) on the Dane’s practice session at the Als Supermotard Club in Denmark. It’s videos like this that are slowly eroding my will-power to resist getting into supermotard riding. Also, I don’t know who was in charge of the music selection on this thing, but my hat is off to him/her. I love the nightlife. I’ve come to boogie.

Confirmed: KTM 350 Duke in 2013 – Moto3 Inspired 350cc Sport Bike in 2014

Our friends over at IndianCarsBikes.in were in attendance at the KTM 200 Duke launch in India this week, as the Austrian brand launched its somewhat bigger-displacement version of the popular KTM Duke 125. During the press event, KTM talked about the future of the mini-Duke line and its product roadmap for the emerging country, as well as abroad. With the Austrian brand confirming/clarifying that KTM would release a KTM 350 Duke for India in 2013, zie Austrians also confirmed that the KTM 350 Duke would be built locally in India by Bajaj, but would be exported worldwide — allaying fears that the KTM 350 Duke would be an India-only model.

Why Today is the Most Important Day for Ducati…Ever

Now that the first Ducati 1199 Panigale has rolled out of the door in Bologna, the die is cast, the chips are in play, and our course is set to see if Ducati has created a “massive breach of brand trust and honesty.” The realization of course should be that Ducati’s brand was never in danger with bikes like the Hypermotard, Multistrada 1200, or Diavel. Instead, the danger of serious brand dilution has always rested on how Ducati handled its Superbike line. A failure to produce a two-wheeled machine that is both as striking visually as it is kinetically, could permanently alienate a loyal fan base that has endured a great deal in the past half-decade.

WSBK: While Rossi Looks for the Ocho at Mugello, Spies Looks for the Septo at Miller

Sat, May 30th, 2009 @ 11:20 pm, by Jenny GunComments Off
Home » News » WSBK: While Rossi Looks for the Ocho at Mugello, Spies Looks for the Septo at Miller

WSBK: While Rossi Looks for the Ocho at Mugello, Spies Looks for the Septo at Miller ben spies wsbk miller motorsports park

World Superbike has landed on American soil with its first stop in the States: Miller Motorsports Park. The track based in Salt Lake City is playing host to WSBK for the second time in its history, and because of injuries a special contingency of American riders participated in the today’s events. With the AMA series sharing a stop at Miller, it should come as no surprise that one of “dem good old boys” was at the top of the Superpole podium.

Jamie Hacking lead the charge in the first round of Superpole qualifying, followed closely by Ben Spies, who is searching for his seventh Superpole in a row. The American duo set the tone for the rest of the day, and worked their way all the way into the final round.

In the second round of qualifying, Spies showed why he is the master of the Superpole, and quickly took matters into his own hands. Meanwhile, Max Biaggi crashed his Aprilia RSV4 with 6 minutes to go in the session, before he could clock in a lap time. Right after he went down, he leapt onto a scooter and was rushed back to the pits, where he got on his spare bike out just in time to go out for another lap. Unfortunately for Biaggi, as he went out very light rain started, and he failed to improve his time from the previous round. It was at this point the weather in Salt Lake City started to play a factor into the Superpole competition.

In the third and last round of Superpole racing, Carlos Checa took an early lead, but it didn’t last long as Ben Spies dropped the hammer down with just 7 minutes to go, with a time of 1’48.344.

This would be the fastest time of the day, as Spies upped the ante just before the rain really began to fall at Miller. This meant that Ben was assured his his 7th Superpole in a row, taking the pole record from fellow American Doug Polen. Jamie Hacking couldn’t improve his position in the last round of qualifying, and will start from the 8th position on the grid.

Results from World Superbike at Miller Motorsports Park Superpole:

Pos	No.	Rider	Bike	Time	Diff
1	19	B. Spies	Yamaha YZF R1	1’48.344
2	7	C. Checa	Honda CBR1000RR	1’48.908	0.564
3	9	R. Kiyonari	Honda CBR1000RR	1’49.243	0.899
4	84	M. Fabrizio	Ducati 1098R	1’49.434	1.090
5	96	J. Smrz	Ducati 1098R	1’49.658	1.314
6	67	S. Byrne	Ducati 1098R	1’49.982	1.638
7	23	B. Parkes	Kawasaki ZX 10R	1’51.328	2.984
8	2	J. Hacking	Kawasaki ZX 10R	1’51.438	3.094
Out after Superpole 2 (Ben Spies, 1’48.319)
9	41	N. Haga	Ducati 1098R	1’49.516	1.197
10	56	S. Nakano	Aprilia RSV4 Factory	1’49.528	1.209
11	65	J. Rea	Honda CBR1000RR	1’49.541	1.222
12	91	L. Haslam	Honda CBR1000RR	1’49.765	1.446
13	71	Y. Kagayama	Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9	1’50.114	1.795
14	10	F. Nieto	Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9	1’50.488	2.169
15	99	L. Scassa	Kawasaki ZX 10R	1’50.987	2.668
16	3	M. Biaggi	Aprilia RSV4 Factory	1’51.351	3.032
Out after Superpole 1 (Jamie Hacking, 1’49.216)
17	36	G. Lavilla	Ducati 1098R	1’50.344	1.128
18	25	D. Salom	Kawasaki ZX 10R	1’50.633	1.417
19	57	L. Lanzi	Ducati 1098R	1’50.868	1.652
20	31	K. Muggeridge	Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9	1’51.004	1.788

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Tagged under: America, Americans, Ben Spies, Jamie Hacking, MMp, record, Salt Lake City, superbike, Superpole, USA, world superbike, World Superbike Championship, WSBK

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