Valentino Rossi finally put an end to the speculation today at the MotoGP pre-race press conference, and announced that Ducati Corse will use an aluminum chassis during the Aragon GP this weekend. First tested last week on the Ducati Desmosedici GP12, the FTR-built aluminum frame has improved the front end feeling for the Desmosedici, an issue that has plagued the Ducati all this season. Rossi will first use the new aluminum parts during Free Practice tomorrow, though the team hasn’t confirmed their use in the race just yet.

“We tested last week after the race, and it was not so bad,” said Rossi when talking about Ducati Corse’s post-Mugello test. “We tried something different on the bike to improve the front feeling and turning, and the lap times were not so bad. I was a bit faster than the last time, and basically the feeling was quite good, so we’re moving forward.”

When pressed about what changes Ducati made, and whether or not Rossi test the rumored aluminum frame, the nine-time World Champion was quick to correct. ”It is not a frame,” explained Rossi. “The philosophy of the Ducati is the same, but the front part of the bike is a bit different, and is in aluminum, and not in carbon like before. But about the material, it is a question of time. We have to work to try and understand how the bike and with aluminum you need a lot less time compared to the carbon. The bike improved a bit, but this is just the first step. We need to keep working to come back and fight for the front.”

The obvious point to make in the 2011 MotoGP Championship is that Ducati Corse is struggling to compete with Yamaha and Honda, despite having the G.O.A.T. himself, Valentino Rossi, riding for the Italian squad. The recent history of the Desmosedici is fraught with bullet points of issues, most of which coming back to the bike’s notoriously vague front-end. Though showing moments of promise, even brilliance, including a World Championship with Casey Stoner at the helm, the Ducati Desmosedici has earned the reputation as a career-ender and a confidence destroyer among its less fortunate pilots.

When the dream team of development came to Ducati, in the guise of Valentino Rossi and Jeremy Burgess et al, the talk before the 2011 season was that the nine-time World Champion and his perhaps even more impressive garage crew could have the Desmosedici figured out in no-time at all. With the now infamous quote from Burgess that the GP10 could be sorted out in about 20 seconds still resonating in the MotoGP paddock, we stand now well over half of the way through the current MotoGP season, and the Championship standings hide what’s been apparent from day one: the Desmoproblema requires more than a quick-fix.

The solution to fixing the Ducati Desmosedici can be broken down into three camps, and depending whose opinion you solicit, you’ll get one of the following causes for Ducati’s uncompetitive season: the motor, the chassis, or the rider. Walking us through that analysis is our good friend David Emmett (bookmark his site MotoMatters.com right now), who may not be the most astute automatic transmission driver we’ve ever seen, but when it comes to comprehensive MotoGP analysis, the man is second to none.

Putting together an exhaustive digest on the issues that are surrounding Valentino Rossi, Ducati Corse, and the Desmosedici, Emmett weighs and measures the different dynamics of the problem at hand. Head on over to MotoMatters with your beverage of choice in-hand, and hear what MotoGP’s most-enlightened journalist has to say on the biggest subject in MotoGP.

Photo: © 2011 Scott Jones Photography – All Rights Reserved

We really want to hate this F1 Tracker concept by Marcus Moto Design, we really do. While the BMX-style handlebars might be palatable, the huge 1970′s F1-inspired air scoop is not only awkwardly eye-catching, but could potentially make things interesting from a practicality point-of-view. So we won’t hold it against of our dear readers if the comments section is full of snarky anonymous posts blasting the F1 Tracker into motorcycling hell…honest.

But before you set phasers to kill, take a second look at this design, because there is some sheer brilliance in it. Air scoops aside (we must admit, it does grow on you after a while), the F1 Tracker’s lines have a great flat-tracker meets sport bike quality to them that makes you with the Italian company would pick-up on some of the ideas Marcus is putting down here…and then there’s the carbon fiber…everything. We like that.

Once thought for dead, Dymag wheels are again be available for motorcycle enthusiasts, as the brand has been bought by CSA International Ltd. Resuming production in the United Kingdom, Dymag finds life again after going into administration in 2009. A maker of racing wheels since the 1970′s, Dymag made the first 3-spoke magnesium racing wheel, which helped propel Eddie Lawson to claim the AMA Superbike Championships in 1981 and 1982 & MotoGP World Championship in 1984.

Talking about the rekindled brand, Chairman of CSA International Limited Chris Shelley said, “Dymag is a legendary brand respected by racing and bike enthusiasts across the globe for design and performance excellence. We are currently investing heavily in new production processes and equipment to modernise the manufacturing process and shorten delivery lead times.”

2011 marks the end of the current Ducati Superbike 1198 as we know it, and Ducati has been hard at work on the successor to the crown jewel in its model line-up. Undertaking the most expensive model design in the history of the company, Ducati has poured a ton of resources into its 2012 Superbike in order to make it a market leader. Recently stretching the faith of the Ducati loyal by introducing bikes like the Hypermotard, Multistrada 1200, and now the new Ducati Diavel that extend Ducati into non-racing segments, 2012 is the Bologna brand’s answer that it is heavily committed to its Superbike roots.

Starting from scratch with its design, the 2012 Ducati Superbike features two impressive performance figures: an additional 20hp (taking the Superbike up to 190hp), and a weight reduction of 20 lbs across the model line. Host to a bevy of street bike firsts, our Bothan Spies also tell us that the new Superbike is going to be a stunner.

Attention Ducati Superbike 848, 1098, & 1198 owners with an extra $5,000 laying around, we’ve found the essential Christmas gift for your holiday wish list: the BST carbon fiber swingarm. Made from that magical composite material that makes motorcyclists spasm with delight, the BST carbon fiber swingarm weighs half of what the aluminum stocker tips the scales at, while increasing stiffness.

The BST swinger is also 16mm longer than the stock unit, which is the same length the WSBK guys use for better stability and handling. If you have the means, we highly suggest picking one up, and BST if you’re reading this, we’ll happily take one into the A&R office “for reviewing purposes”. More photos after the jump.