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.

WSBK: Race 2 at Donington Park Ends with a Nearly Fractured Vertebrae

06/28/2009 @ 6:31 pm, by Jensen Beeler2 COMMENTS

If the close racing of Race 1 wasn’t enough drama for the fans at Donington Park, Race 2 provided it in full. Another breakaway start, and a couple key crashes, lead to a shake up in the finishing results, and one rider was rushed off to the hospital for a suspected fractured vertabrae that might change the course of the season. Continue reading for spoilers.

Ben Spies took an uncontested Double at Donington by winning Race 2 with relative ease. Spies took the lead in the first corner, and never looked back, finishing 6 seconds ahead of second place Leon Haslam.

As the track at Donington warmed up, it was clear some riders had the wrong compound of tire on their race bikes. Max Biaggi crashed first, hanging up any hopes for redemption after running out of fuel in Race 1. A lap later, Noriyuki Haga had a nasty crash where his Ducati tumbled and landed on top of him.

Haga walked away from the crash, visibly in pain. It was suspected he had a fractured vertebrae, but a later CAT scan confirmed he did not, although he did break a series of other bones in his arm and shoulder.

With the podium shake up completed, the race was left for Leon Haslam, Michel Fabrizio, and Shane Byrne to figure out the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place spots in victory lane. Haslam ended up holding off Fabrizio, and Shakey finished 4th.

Spies made 25 points on Haga for his day’s work at Donington, and now only trails the Xerox Ducati by 14 points. The big question now will be whether Haga will be able to ride any of the remaining races of the season, and defend is now narrow lead.

We’ll keep your apprised of the news as we get it.

Results from Race 2 of World Superbike at Donington Park, UK:

Pos.	Num.	Rider	Country	Bike	Diff
1	19	B. Spies	USA	Yamaha YZF R1
2	91	L. Haslam	GBR	Honda CBR1000RR	6.622
3	84	M. Fabrizio	ITA	Ducati 1098R	6.816
4	67	S. Byrne	GBR	Ducati 1098R	7.349
5	66	T. Sykes	GBR	Yamaha YZF R1	8.145
6	22	L. Camier	GBR	Yamaha YZF R1	13.463
7	9	R. Kiyonari	JPN	Honda CBR1000RR	15.751
8	27	J. Ellison	GBR	Yamaha YZF R1	16.837
9	111	R. Xaus	ESP	BMW S1000 RR	22.891
10	117	S. Andrews	GBR	Kawasaki ZX 10R	30.347
11	57	L. Lanzi	ITA	Ducati 1098R	30.622
12	14	M. Lagrive	FRA	Honda CBR1000RR	31.562
13	71	Y. Kagayama	JPN	Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9	32.148
14	23	B. Parkes	AUS	Kawasaki ZX 10R	32.607
15	65	J. Rea	GBR	Honda CBR1000RR	32.806
16	99	L. Scassa	ITA	Kawasaki ZX 10R	34.269
17	79	B. Young	USA	Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9	40.644
18	36	G. Lavilla	ESP	Ducati 1098R	40.956
19	25	D. Salom	ESP	Kawasaki ZX 10R	41.302
20	11	T. Corser	AUS	BMW S1000 RR	42.856
21	3	M. Biaggi	ITA	Aprilia RSV4 Factory	47.769
RET	77	V. Iannuzzo	ITA	Honda CBR1000RR	8 Laps
RET	88	R. Resch	AUT	Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9	8 Laps
RET	53	A. Polita	ITA	Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9	17 Laps
RET	7	C. Checa	ESP	Honda CBR1000RR	18 Laps
RET	94	D. Checa	ESP	Yamaha YZF R1	18 Laps
RET	41	N. Haga	JPN	Ducati 1098R	19 Laps
RET	96	J. Smrz	CZE	Ducati 1098R	21 Laps
RET	56	S. Nakano	JPN	Aprilia RSV4 Factory	22 Laps
RET	2	J. Hacking	USA	Kawasaki ZX 10R	22 Laps

Tagged under: Ben Spies, Donington Park, Fuel, Leon Haslam, Michel Fabrizio, Race 1, world superbike, World Superbike Championship, WSBK

Comment:

Asphalt_Rubber says:
June 28, 2009 at 10:31 PM
WSBK: Race 2 at Donington Park Ends with a Nearly Fractured Vertebrae – http://tinyurl.com/mj2sb4 #motorcycle
Beatpusher says:
June 29, 2009 at 1:40 AM
Hey you didn’t mention the first top ten for BMW! Also, I’m pretty sure the aprllia didn’t run out of fuel. Listen to the post race withMax.

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