We should preface right off the bat that this is a photoshop’d render of the much anticipated MV Agusta F3 (that Castiglioni hopes will save MV Agusta), and not an actual image of what the final product will look like. Odd logos and checkered flags aside though (let’s do the time warp again), this photoshop by Russian website Motogonki.ru is a good start to imagining what the F3 will look like when MV Agusta drops the F4 camouflage later this year at Milan.
Handwritten and then reproduced by Fiat-Yamaha, Valentino Rossi included an open letter with the announcement of his departure from Fiat-Yamaha to Marlboro Ducati. In his own words Rossi documents his “relationship” with the Yamaha YZR-M1, and is quick to point-out that it was Rossi’s direction and input that turned the bike into the weapon of choice in MotoGP. Reading the letter, it might be a bit strange as to why the message was included with the official press release from Yamaha, but peering between the lines some parting words can be inferred from Rossi, and perhaps greater insight into what makes a nine-time World Champion.
The worst kept secret in the paddock is finally official, thus completing what MotoGP fans (especially Italians) have been waiting for: Valentino Rossi signing with Ducati Corse. The nine-time World Champion and Italian celebrity is finally paired up with Italy’s most iconic motorcycling brand for the 2011 season, an action that has been the subject of intrigue not only for the better part of this season, but for years inside MotoGP.
Announcing their partnership today, Rossi and Ducati have their work cut out for them in taking-on impressive up-start Jorge Lorenzo and the formidable Yamaha YZR-M1. Press releases from Ducati & Fiat-Yamaha after the jump, along with a quote from Valentino himself.
UPDATE: The MV Agusta F3 has officially broken cover.
Italian news site Il Sole 24 Ore sat down with the new owner of MV Agutsa, Claudio Castiglioni, and asked the Italian perhaps the most pertinent question about his new company: what’s next? Striking to the point of things, Castiglioni says much of MV Agusta’s future will depend on the company’s new three-cylinder motorcycles, which the company hopes to sell 10,000 of during the next model year.
Officially now called the MV Agusta F3, Castiglioni was also forthright on some of the details. Already rumored to be a 675cc three-cylinder powered motorcycle, Castiglioni has confirmed this setup along with the fact that there will be at least two price points, with a base and sport model being available.
After Asphalt & Rubber broke the news about the MV Agusta purchase last week, many of the details about Harley-Davidson’s sale of MV Agusta to the Castiglioni were known or rumored at the time of the purchase’s announcement later in the day; however the exact figures and terms of the agreement were not officially known. Having filed the appropriate forms with the SEC, Harley-Davidson (a publicly traded company) has had to disclose the terms of MV Agusta’s sale, which don’t paint a favorable picture for the Milwaukee brand, but show how Castiglioni “bought” his company back despite bids coming from other parties.
There has to be a bevy of high-fives going on in Milwaukee right now, as Harley-Davidson has finally unloaded MV Agusta from its holdings (we broke the news on the purchase earlier this morning). Harley-Davidson bought MV Agusta for $109 million back in 2008 (most of which was bad debt), and now just a little over two years later is making a tidy profit of…well, nothing. After wiping the books clean, investing in new infrastructre, and getting MV Agusta back on track with an all new model line-up (with a bike on the way), Harley-Davidson saw a paltry sum of €1 cross its desks. Harley-Davidson shares are down 3.5% as of this writing.
Instead Harley-Davidson is calling things even with the Castiglioni family, who would have seen a stock pay-out had the company exchanged hands with another buyer, like TPG for instance. The Castiglioni’s stock was worth somewhere between €20-€30 million, and now with 100% ownership, the Italians are free to once again run MV Agusta into the ground, just like they did leading up to 2008.
Harley-Davidson & MV Agusta press releases are after the jump. One interesting point of note that taking the helm of MV Agusta is former Ducati General Manager and Chief Engineer Massimo Bordi. Bordi was once offered the job of CEO at Ducati, but turned it down, and the position was filled by Gabriele del Torchio, Ducati’s current CEO. Bordi’s last item of business at Ducati was trying to sell the Italian brand to Harley-Davidson, which makes for some good irony in today’s announcement.
On Tuesday night we were delighted to see that American print magazine Cycle World had gotten a chance to sit down with Ducati Motor Holdings CEO Gabriele del Torchio, and talk about the future of Ducati, the upcoming power-cruiser, and of course Valentino Rossi. To our surprise, del Torchio seemingly spilled the beans about Rossi moving over to Ducati, and so we, like many other sites, jumped on the news and published it.
This article of course has surprised the folks in Bologna, who have released a statement saying that the Italian brand has not signed Rossi, and that Cycle World‘s article “misreported” the facts. This is of course Ducati saying politely that Cycle World made the quotes up, which regardless if it’s true or not, is a sizeable issue for motorcycle publications and their readers.
UPDATE: Ducati has denied del Torchio’s statements in Cycle World’s article.
It’s not like we didn’t already know that Rossi had signed with Ducati, but Ducati Motor Holdings CEO Gabriele del Torchio let it slip during an interview with Cycle World magazine that both Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi would be riding with Ducati for 2011. This makes the first person at Ducati to go on the record about next year’s MotoGP rider line-up at the Italian company, which should send Ducatisti into a fervor, and drool marinara sauce.
Del Torchio’s exact words to Cycle World were: “Nicky is a wonderful person and a great rider. This year, he greatly contributed to improving our Desmosedici racer. Next year, he and Valentino will hone the bike to its ultimate winning potential.” Del Torchio goes on to tell Cycle World about the upcoming “Vyper/Mega Monster” bike that will debut at Milan, if you like your desmo’s go on over to Cycleworld.com and read the full article.
Centered around capturing a younger demographic, the Brawler is the latest concept from Travis Clark. Hoping to engage younger riders with an actually sporty Sportster, Clark’s Brawler, in its finest trim, combines the high-powered Porsche designed motor in an attractive package that speaks more to a younger generation than anything that’s come out of Milwaukee…and it looks good too.
While Harley-Davidson has certainly been gaining some traction in younger markets with its different Sportster offerings, like the new Forty-Eight, the company still needs a major youth infusion. Clark thinks that his Brawler is the the ticket with its more modern design and performance-centered operation. Designed to come with two different suspension packages, the base Brawler features inverted forks and an 88ci air-cooled HD power plant, while the high-end brawler comes with the V-Rod motor and leading link front suspension.
The question is a bit rhetorical in nature since it’s the company who is asking it, but why would Erik Buell Racing be putting turn signals and radiator fans on an EBR 1190RR race bike? Well if you were a company that was rapidly approaching the rumored end of a non-compete agreement, wouldn’t you like to get ready to stick it to the man? We’re still not sure about the whole rock band thing though. Maybe if Erik played Freebird more often we could get into it.
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Emptying out the memory cards from the Red Bull US GP weekend, we came across a few blooper shots that we just had to share with you (like this one of Aleix Espargaró re-enacting “The Pass” that Rossi pulled on Stoner in the 2008 US GP). We often place MotoGP riders on a pedestal, looking to them as gods, but it’s good every now and then to remind ourselves that they are mortal men after all. Flip through this short series of photos after the jump for a couple of laughs.