Q&A: Claudio Domenicali Talks Frameless Chassis, Sacred Cows, & The Future for Ducati

When I sat down with Claudio Domenicali at the Ducati 1199 Panigale R launch, the now-CEO of Ducati Motor Holding was still just the General Manager of the Italian motorcycle company. Four weeks after our interview though, Gabriele del Torchio would leave Ducati for Alitalia; and Domenicali, a 21-year veteran of both the racing and production departments of Ducati, would take his place at the top of Italy’s most prestigious motorcycle brand. After reading our interview from Austin, Texas after the jump, I think you will agree too.

Is Yamaha Using A Seamless Gearbox? The Data Says No

That Yamaha is working on a seamless gearbox is no secret, with Yamaha’s test riders currently racking up the kilometers around tracks in Japan. Recently, however, Spanish magazine SoloMoto published an article suggesting that Yamaha has already been using its new seamless gearbox since the beginning of the season. My own enquiries to check whether Yamaha was using a seamless gearbox or not always received the same answer: no, Yamaha is not using the seamless gearbox. To test this denial, I went out to the side of the track on Friday morning at Jerez to record the bikes as they went by.

OCC Coming Back to TV? — Universe Collapses in on Self

After a very public father/son break-up between Paul Teutul Sr. and Paul Teutul Jr., a steroid-ring scandal involving Paul Sr., and finally a bankruptcy proceeding, it appears that Orange County Choppers is the impossible to kill multi-headed hydra of doom that we all knew it was, as the custom chopper shop is once again headed to the small screen and recruiting some talent, on and off the show. Looking for “someone who will work alongside Paul Senior, running the shop and helping build some of the best custom motorcycles in the world,” OCC says it will be back on television with a new show later this month. Please for the love of god, will someone give this man the attention he craves so dearly??! Or, just shoot us in the face.

Alstare Superbike Concept by Team Alstare

We love us some concept bikes here at Asphalt & Rubber, and we have featured more than a few pieces of stunning design and imagination on our pages. Though, we can’t remember the last time one of these works of art were brought to us by a legitimate racing team, but that is what we have here with the Team Alstare Superbike Concept. A nod to the former Suzuki team’s return to the World Superbike Championship as the Ducati factory squad with Carlos Checa and Ayrton Badovini, Alstare has enlisted the help of designer Serge Rusak of Rusak Kreaktive Designworks to ink the shape of its futuristic Superbike concept, while Tryptik Studios handled the 3D modeling prowess.

Transcript: The Gay Question at Jerez

If you didn’t watch Thursday’s pre-event press conference for MotoGP at Jerez, it is worth a viewing right to the end (assuming you have a MotoGP.com account). Building off the news about the NBA’s Jason Collins coming out as gay in a self-written feature in Sport Illustrated, my good colleague David Emmett had the courage to inquire about the culture and acceptance of the MotoGP paddock for homosexual riders. For the sake of accuracy, after the jump is a full transcript of David’s question, as put to riders Cal Crutchlow, Jorge Lorenzo, Marc Marquez, Andrea Dovizioso, Stefan Bradl, and Scott Redding, as well as those riders’ responses to David’s inquiry.

2014 Suzuki GSV-R Spotted Again

News that Suzuki plans on returning to the MotoGP Championship in 2014 should be old information for dedicated Asphalt & Rubber readers, and the Japanese company’s inline-four race bike was already spotted doing test laps last year by the eager eyes at Cycle World. Well the American print-mag has another set of eyebrow-raising high-quality photos of the 2014 Suzuki GSV-R to mull over from the Motegi race track, along with some technical insights provided by the venerable Kevin Cameron.

BMW F800GS Adventure – Germany’s Middleweight ADV

A surprise addition to BMW Motorrad’s 2013 model line-up, zie Germans have announced a new middleweight adventure-tourer, the 2013 BMW F800GS Adventure. Like its larger predecessor, the BMW F800GS Adventure is a more travel-ready and off-road capable build of the recently updated BMW F800GS motorcycle. Featuring a larger windscreen, panniers, and a bigger fuel tank capacity (2.1 gallons larger, for a total of 6.3 gallons of fuel), the BMW F800GS Adventure keeps the same 85 hp, liquid-cooled, 798cc, parallel-twin engine found on the F800GS, as well as the same chassis configuration. Pricing in the US will be $13,550 for the base model BWM F800GS Adventure.

Kevin Schwantz Returns to Motorcycle Racing – Enters the Suzuka 8-Hours with Team Kagayama

Former 500cc World Champion Kevin Schwantz has certainly been in the news a bit these past few months, mostly for his involvement and falling out with the Circuit of the Americas and the Americas GP, but also more recently for his comments regarding Dani Pedrosa — we also sat down with Mr. Schwantz in Austin, and the Texan gave us some sobering insight into the future of American road racing. As if all that wasn’t enough, Schwantz is making a return to two-wheeled racing, and has entered the prestigious Suzuka 8-Hours endurance race with Team Kagayama racing alongside Noriyuki Haga and team owner Yukio Kagayama.

Öhlins Releases a Semi-Active Suspension Upgrade for the Ducati Multistrada 1200 S – But, What’s Next?

An interesting development on the aftermarket side of things has graced our desks, as Öhlins has released a “suspension control unit” (SCU) that upgrades the electronically adjustable suspension on the Ducati Multistrada 1200 S so that it becomes a semi-active suspension system. Whhhaaaat??! So, if you’re the proud owner of a pre-2013 Ducati Multistrada 1200 S, and you think that your electronically controlled Öhlins suspension is no longer boss, now that Ducati has released its Sachs-powered “Skyhook” semi-active suspension pieces on its new batch of Multistrada sport-tourers, there is a remedy for your motolust.

Up-Close with the 2013 Yamaha YZR-M1

In case you missed our exhaustive coverage of the Grand Prix of the Americas, those fools at Dorna gave me pit lane access this MotoGP season. So while the whole paddock waits for the Spaniards to come to their senses, I don’t plan on wasting the opportunity to share with our readers our extreme access to motorcycling’s premier racing class. Accordingly, here comes another installment into our ever-continuing “Up-Close” series, featuring the very finest Iwata has to offer: the Yamaha YZR-M1. Thirty 2000px-wide photos are waiting for you after the jump.

FIM Announces Official Moto2 & Moto3 Entries for 2012

10/18/2011 @ 7:04 am, by Jensen Beeler4 COMMENTS

The Selection Committe, comprised of the FIM, IRTA, and Dorna, has released its official list of entrants for the 2012 Moto2 & Moto3 World Championships. Subject still to the final confirmation of riders contracted to the teams, we can initially see that Moto2 will get a slight grid reduction for 2012, as the middle-child of Grand Prix racing will have 32 riders from 20 teams competing on any given Sunday.

That number will also hold for the new Moto3 class, which will replace 125GP in the upcoming season. Notable team entries come from Bankia Aspar, which is currently leading the 125GP class, and Gresini Racing, which will have a stake in each of the three GP classes. Also present is Marc Marquez’s Monlau Competicion team, which adds some fodder to the increasing debate as to whether the talented Spaniard will ride in MotoGP for next season, though we expect to hear more on that at Valencia, if not at Sepang.

Though an official list, a final selection meeting will be held by the Selection Committee at the Valencia GP, after which a final list of teams and riders accepted will be published. Check the official Moto2 & Moto3 entries after the jump.

Moto3 class – 20 teams, representing 32 entries

1. Ajo Motorsport Red Bull
2. Avant Airasia Ajo
3. Bankia Aspar Team
4. By Queroseno Racing
5. Caretta Technology (Techno Racing)
6. CBC Corse
7. Gresini Racing
8. Ioda Racing Project
9. Mahindra Racing Team
10. Monlau Competicion
11. Moto FGR
12. Moto Racing Matteoni
13. MZ Motor Co
14. Racing Team Germany
15. RW Racing GP BV
16. Team Italia FMI
17. Team Machado
18. Technomag CIP
19. TT Motion Events Racing
20. Worldwide Communications (Phonica Racing)

Reserve Entry: Technomag CIP – Second place.

Moto2 class – 20 teams, representing 32 entries

1. Forward Racing
2. Gresini Racing
3. GP Team Switzerland
4. Ioda Racing Project
5. Italtrans Racing Team
6. JIR Moto2
7. Kiefer Racing
8. Mapfre Aspar Moto2
9. Marc VDS Moto2GP
10. Monlau Competicion
11. MZ Motor
12. Pons Racing
13. QMMF Racing Team
14. Racing Team by Queroseno
15. Speed Master
16. Speed Up
17. Stop and Go Racing Team
18. Technomag CIP
19. Tech 3
20. TT Motion Events

Reserve Entry: Bainet Sport

Source: FIM; Photo: Honda

Tagged under: Dorna, entry list, FIM, IRTA, Moto2, Moto3, MotoGP, official list, Selection Committee

Comment:

Jake Fox says:
October 18, 2011 at 7:08 AM
Weren’t we supposed to get an announcement over the weekend from Suzuki regarding their participation in the premier class next year? What’s the deal?
Westward says:
October 18, 2011 at 11:09 AM
I also did not notice Thomas Luthi’s Interwetten team listed either…
Bjorn says:
October 18, 2011 at 4:01 PM
I’m hoping that Moto3 will be a roaring success and create a climate favourable to the idea of opening Moto2 to other engine suppliers. I’ve been awestruck by the racing in Moto2, but I can’t help but feel dissatisfaction at the premier middleweight racing class being powered by only one brand of engine.
dc4go says:
October 18, 2011 at 8:21 PM
Is moto2 going to use an open motor class or is it still a Honda only class?

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