Ducati Q1 2013 Sales Drop 5% – Audi Dishes the Details

Ducatisti: do you want the good news or the bad news first? The bad news is that the market for motorcycles 500cc and up is down 17% worldwide for the first quarter of this year, which means the “good” news is that Ducati is only down 5% for Q1 2013. Not exactly the start out of the gate that Audi was hoping for its newly acquired two-wheeled brand, but what are you going to do? Western Europe is a mess, with Spain and Italy continuing to go down like a…well, you know. While we don’t enjoy the misery of motorcycle brands, the fact that Ducati Motor Holding is now under the Audi AG umbrella means that we get far more detailed quarterly and yearly reports from the two-wheeled marque, and we’ve got the digits after the jump.

Mission Motorcycles: The Mission R Lives??!

Mission Motors tweeted out something interesting just a moment ago, a link to a new website for Mission Motorcycles. Teasing there a photo of the Mission R, it would seem that the electric superbike that does competitive AMA Supersport lap times at Laguna Seca, is finally set to come to production. It seems we won’t know everything about the new Mission Motorcycles project until June 3rd, though we can speculate pretty accurately on what the A&R Bothan spy network has been telling us. Expect to see the Mission R electric superbike in street legal trim, honed even further than when we rode the machine back in August last year.

Goodbye Husqvarna Nuda, We Hardly Knew Thee

Stefan Pierer’s acquisition of Husqvarna continues to baffle me. You will note I say Pierer, and not KTM, bought Husqvarna, since the Austrian CEO used Pierer Industrie AG in the transaction as a means to help side-step European antitrust issues. After all, we can’t have Europe’s largest dirt bike manufacturer, nay largest total motorcycle manufacturer, gobbling up even more brands in the two-wheeled world. But, I digress. Developing three road bikes (Husqvarna Nuda 900, Husqvarna Strada 650, & Husqvarna Terra 650), with three more concepts waiting in the wings (Husqvarna Moab, Husqvarna Baja, & Husqvarna E-G0), it is with even more confusion that we learn that Pierer & Co. intend to kill the Husqvarna Nuda project and its other street siblings.

Q&A: Yukio Kagayama Talks About the Upcoming Suzuka 8-Hour with Kevin Schwantz & Noriyuki Haga

In case you missed the story last week, Kevin Schwantz is preparing to race in this year’s Suzuka 8-Hour endurance race. For the race, Schwantz will be riding on a team formed by Yukio Kagayama, who in addition to having raced in the MotoGP, World Superbike, and British Superbike Championships, is also a previous Suzuka 8-Hour winner with the Suzuki Endurance Race Team (also joining the three-rider team Noriyuki “Nitro” Haga). Releasing a Q&A about his team’s Suzuka 8-Hour entry, Kagayama-san walks us through how the team came together, what equipment the riders will use, and his outlook on the team’s competitiveness.

KTM RC4 Concept by Luca Bar Design

A single-cylinder hooligan-maker, the KTM 690 Duke is 330 lbs (curbside without fuel) and 67hp of two-wheeled fun, and we hope that the Austrians bring the KTM 690 Duke R our way as well. While we are on the topic of things missing from KTM’s American line-up, a decent supersport is painfully obvious, yet we can’t see the folks at KTM following the paths of other brands. That’s where our friend Luca Bar comes to mind with his latest concept: the KTM RC4. Using the KTM 690 Duke platform and its LC4 engine, Bar has designed a super-single full-fairing sport bike that takes the Austrian company’s “Ready to Race” DNA and applies it to an idea that is not all that disimilar to the Ducati Supermono.

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.

WSBK: Dry & Sunny Brno Brings Dominance to Superpole

07/09/2011 @ 7:18 am, by Victoria ReidComments Off

Max Biaggi (1:58.580) ended the Superpole qualifying sessions for the 2011 World Superbike round at Brno essentially untouchable. Though he continued to lap at the end of the final session, his closest rivals either remained in the garage or were unable to find the speed to catch him on the track. He will be joined by Marco Melandri, Carlos Checa, and Eugene Laverty on the front row for Sunday’s races. Despite a crash late in S1, Biaggi’s teammate Leon Camier managed to get back out and move forward, qualifying on the second row.

Smrz was the first fastest rider in Friday morning’s free practice session at the Czech rider’s home circuit, barely beating Biaggi’s best time as the session ended. The Italian was second fastest, with Melandri, Fabrizio, and Smrz’s teammate Guintoli (set to replace the injured Loris Capirossi in MotoGP for at least one race this season) the fastest five. In the first qualifying session, it was Checa’s turn to be the fastest Ducati again, though Smrz was just a couple of tenths slower for a provisional front row start. Melandri, Laverty, and Biaggi completed the fastest five in that afternoon session.

Though James Toseland participated in the morning free practice, he relinquished his racing duties back to Lorenzo Lanzi with continued troubles in his wrist. The Briton is hoping to be fully healed for his second home round at Silverstone, the end of this month. He was joined on the injured roster by Troy Corser, who was not replaced for this round at the factory BMW team, and Jonathan Rea. The Ulsterman has been replaced for his possibly long-term recovery by Alex Lowes at Castrol Honda.

After the final qualifying practice Checa remained on the provisional pole, though he had not improved his time. Smrz and Melandri also remained on the provisional front row, as Biaggi improved to join them. It was a generally uneventful session, though both Castrol Honda riders did not move forward to Superpole, nor did three of the five Kawasaki riders. Laverty took control in the final free practice, leading Checa, Biaggi, Badovini, and Melandri as the fastest five. Knocked Out in Qualifying Practice: 17. Ruben Xaus, 18. Roberto Rolfo, 19. Joan Lascorz, 20. Chris Vermeulen, 21. Alex Lowes, 22. Victor Kispataki.

Superpole 1:
Melandri took an early lead over Badovini, Haga, Guintoli, and Haslam in the early stages of the first session of Superpole, though Checa, Biaggi, and Laverty soon slid in ahead of Badovini. It was a fairly standard session until Camier crashed out with just over five minutes remaining. He had set no time and would likely be knocked out in S1. At that point, Melandri led Checa, Biaggi, and Laverty as the provisional front row, with Fabrizio, Sykes, Camier, and Baiocco in the knockout zone.

Fabrizio jumped from fourteenth to tenth on his next lap, but the big surprise near the end of the session was Camier’s reappearance. He managed to go seventh fastest and move on to S2. In the end, Melandri (1:59.379) was quickest, with Checa, Smrz, and Biaggi completing the provisional front row. Knocked Out in Superpole 1: 13. Leon Haslam, 14. Noriyuki Haga, 15. Lorenzo Lanzi, 16. Matteo Baiocco.

Superpole 2:
Halfway through the twelve minute session, Checa led Laverty, Biagi, and Smrz, with Aitchison, Fabrizio, Berger, and Camier in the knockout zone. The latter had yet to set a time. Though Biaggi had taken an early lead, Checa was the rider to first post a lap in the 1:58s range for the weekend. Quickly, Camier again pulled himself out of the knockout zone, jumping from no time to sixth with a couple of minutes remaining. That fast lap dropped Guintoli into the relegation zone. As the seconds ticked away, Sykes posted a blistering lap to come within a hundredth of Checa’s time, leaving Badovini, Guintoli, Aitchison, and Berger in danger. In the end, Checa (1:58.930) remained fastest, with Sykes, Laverty, and Biaggi on the provisional front row. Knocked Out in Superpole 2: 9. Ayrton Badovini, 10. Sylvain Guintoli, 11. Mark Aitchison, 12. Maxime Berger.

Superpole 3:
Biaggi took the provisional pole early in the session, leading Melandri and Camier. However, Smrz snuck into second fastest position with five minutes remaining. Soon, only Checa and Fabrizio had yet to set a lap time, with Biaggi leading Melandri, Laverty, Smrz, Camier, and Sykes. On his first lap, Checa went third fastest, though Biaggi’s 1:58.580 looked hard to beat. In the final moments, Biaggi went back out on a second qualifying tire, though both factory Yamaha riders had given up for the day. Sykes, despite his earlier speed, was down in eighth with Smrz, Fabrizio, and Camier joining him on the provisional second row. At the end of S3, there was simply no one who could beat Biaggi to pole at Brno.

Superpole Results from World Superbike at Brno, Czech Republic:

Pos.	No.	Rider	Team	Time	Diff.
1.	1	Max Biaggi	Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team	1:58.580	-
2.	33	Marco Melandri	Yamaha WSBK Team	1:58.801	0.221
3.	7	Carlos Checa	Althea Racing Ducati	1:38.908	0.328
4.	58	Eugene Laverty	Yamaha WSBK Team	1:59.055	0.475
5.	96	Jakub Smrz	Team Effenbert-Liberty Ducati	1:59.541	0.961
6.	84	Michel Fabrizio	Team Suzuki Alstare	1:59.908	1.328
7.	2	Leon Camier	Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team	1:59.925	1.345
8.	66	Tom Sykes	Paul Bird Racing Kawasaki	2:00.303	1.723
Out After Superpole 2
9.	86	Ayrton Badovini	BMW Motorrad Italia	1:59.684	0.754
10.	50	Sylvain Guintoli	Team Effenbert-Liberty Ducati	1:59.800	0.870
11.	8	Mark Aitchison	Team Pedericini Kawasaki	2:00.362	1.432
12.	121	Maxime Berger	Supersonic Racing Ducati	2:01.011	2.081
Out After Superpole 1
13.	91	Leon Haslam	BMW Motorrad	2:00.252	0.873
14.	41	Noriyuki Haga	PATA Racing Team Aprilia	2:00.374	0.995
15.	57	Lorenzo Lanzi	BMW Motorrad Italia	2:00.619	1.240
16.	15	Matteo Baiocco	Barni Racing Team Ducati	2:00.864	1.485
Not qualified for Superpole
17.	111	Ruben Xaus	Castrol Honda	2:00.681	1.359
18.	44	Roberto Rolfo	Team Pedercini Kawasaki	2:00.710	1.388
19.	17	Joan Lascorz	Paul Bird Racing Kawasaki	2:00.980	1.658
20.	77	Chris Vermeulen	Paul Bird Racing Kawasaki	2:01.447	2.125
21.	22	Alex Lowes	Castrol Honda	2:01.724	2.402
22.	13	Victor Kispataki	Prop-tech ltd. Honda	2:02.721	3.399

Source: WSBK; Photo: Max Biaggi Official Website

Tagged under: Brno, James Toseland, Marco Melandri, Max Biaggi, qualifying, Superpole, Troy Corser, world superbike, WSBK

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