Grab some popcorn, because this video from Ducati North America is over 14 minutes long. Telling the story of Ducati at the 2011 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC), DNA has put together a great video that really captures how special the racing is at Pikes Peak, and how gorgeous the scenery is of the Colorado Mountains. With Santa Barbara Ducati’s Carlin Dunne winning the overall motorcycle category on his dealership’s Multistrada 1200 demo model, Alexander Smith from the Spider Grips Ducati Team made it a double podium for Ducati in the 1205cc class. If you’re new to racing at Pikes Peak, or wanted a quick re-cap of last year’s race, Ducati’s video pretty accurately sums up racing on the mountain and the anxiety around last year’s race.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
No matter how many times someone tries to kill it, this story just won’t die.
Fiat Boss Fuels Ferrari/Rossi Rumors – http://bit.ly/dfoWXK #motorcycle
RT @Asphalt_Rubber: Fiat Boss Fuels Ferrari/Rossi Rumors – http://bit.ly/dfoWXK #motorcycle
RT @Asphalt_Rubber Fiat Boss Fuels Ferrari/Rossi Rumors – http://bit.ly/dfoWXK #motorcycle
This is very good marketing from Ferrari, and to a lesser extent from Fiat, that’s all. Rossi was pretty clear in voicing what anyone (realistic enough) would say about the subject – “When I’ll get bored of MotoGP, I’ll probably be too old for Formula 1″. And being too old is an issue in modern Formula 1. Schumacher who was really the sport’s greatest, shows it best.
This being said, if Rossi is looking for different thrills, I would warmly suggest him a closer move, to Ducati. I would be rude if I’d say that “if he has real balls, he *must* go there and challenge the Stonerhead on his own ground”, wouldn’t I?
Rossi has shown good times in an F1 car, but never, to my knowledge in the identical car, tire, fuel load, and set-up as the drivers everyone compares him to. Consider that F1 cars this year have been as much as 10 seconds a lap slower just by adding a full fuel load and you can see that changing up those kinds of variables makes it impossible to determine if Rossi really was going fast or not. I think he has never been put into comparable equipment on purpose, not just to preserve the latest greatest gear for the current factory drivers but also to assure that Rossi and Ferrari both come out looking as good as possible. And I am sure Rossi knows it. And so does Ferrari, this is just hype to get media coverage to help offset the costs of giving Rossi some seat-time for his personal enjoyment.
Rossi is a talented racer, no doubt, but even great drivers and world champs routinely finish at the back in F1 when the car is not absolutely the best on the grid. Why would his risk further wealth and health in a sport where, argueably, the limitations of the machine cannot be overcome by the operator to the degree they can on a motorcycle and he is not in a position to have the rules and cars altrered to suit him (as he is in MotoGp).
That said, if I were in his shoes I would keep saying yes to offers just to keep trying an F1 car.
Corse Rosa =PINK RACES…….WTF
@MTGR:
what do you mean Rossi is in a position to have the rules changed to suit him in MotoGP? not saying you’re wrong, but just curious.
@Peter
What I think MTGR means is that Rossi is or was on some sort of MotoGP safety committee (I forget the details) and people listen to him when he starts talking about rules. If he *really* wants something changed, chances are good that they will accommodate him.
ah. i see. that doesn’t seem that bad.