Valentino Rossi says a miserly fuel penalty for next weeks MotoGP race in Texas will have little impact on the ability of Ducati to challenge for podiums with their fast new GP15 bike.
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Ductalk: What's Up In The World Of Ducati
Ducati News Roundup Curated by Vicki Smith for Ducati.net |
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Valentino Rossi says a miserly fuel penalty for next weeks MotoGP race in Texas will have little impact on the ability of Ducati to challenge for podiums with their fast new GP15 bike.
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“I think this rule is very unfair. Because now the [Ducati] is very fast” – Valentino Rossi
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It's all smiles and press releases until the other racers start complaining...
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Never underestimate Valentino Rossi, he’s like an unsinkable ship. Crashes for Marquez and Crutchlow, bad mistake for Iannone. “I like the asymmetric front tyre a lot” Marquez said; It was a one-sided love.
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The CAT made at the Hospital has excluded any bloodsheds and Rossi has been discharged and he is staying at his motorhome at the track. Good news has arrived from the Alcaniz Hospital where Valentino Rossi has been brought after breaking too late, touching the astroturf and crashing at turn 7.
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The hard front wasn't getting up to temperature, he believes
Movistar Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi says Bridgestone’s hard compound wet tyres were at fault for the MotoGP free practice crash-fest at Misano today with the accident tally going into double figures and The Doctor himself going down this morning. Rossi crashed on the brakes with zero degress of lean angle and it was an accident replicated throughout the field. Andrea Iannone and Pol Espargaro had the same crash in turn one within second of each other, and Rossi said it is down to the tyres. - See more at: http://www.bikesportnews.com/news-detail.cfm?newstitle=MotoGP-Misano:-Bridgestone-at-fault-for-crashes---Rossi&newsid=12983#sthash.oihGY2UD.dpuf
Tough day, both sessions were crash fests...
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MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi insists he doesn’t regret his decision to join Ducati..
Rossi, who had won seven titles with Honda and Yamaha, saw an all-Italian dream turn into a nightmare with just three podiums during two seasons on the Desmosedici.
In an interview with the official MotoGP website Rossi is quoted as saying it was a mistake to go to Ducati, but felt his words have been misunderstood.
For the rest click HERE
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If you have been watching the practice and qualifying sessions from the Qatar GP, you may have noticed that Valentino Rossi is once again wearing one of his special helmet designs.
For the rest click HERE
Love this!
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Any hope of salvaging another difficult weekend ran out with 10 laps remaining, when Valentino Rossi entered the pit lane with a destroyed rear tire. "It was impossible to keep going - the Italian rider explained afterward - Spies and Barbera also had the same problem, but it happened to them with only 4 laps remaining. I couldn't have made it to the finish line. Our setup was identical to what we used in the warm-up, and this morning I did 13 laps on the soft tire without any problems. Immediately after the race start I felt some chatter in the rear, and that has never happened before. It was difficult to ride."
As for the exact cause of the tire issue, they still aren't sure. "The Ducati stresses the tires more than other bikes - Rossi continued - but this time we were losing large chunks from the tire, something that only happens when the tire overheats. It was a wasted occasion because, thanks in part to the numerous crashes, we could have scored a good result. I got a good start, and before my problems I was studying Hayden to see where I could attack him. Nicky was stronger in the first part of the circuit, but I regained the ground in the faster sections."
Read more: http://www.gpone.com/index.php/en/201206307419/Rossi-Ducati-has-reassured-me.html#ixzz1zPKJUp3t
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The Ducati Team is preparing for Sunday’s Catalan Grand Prix at the wonderful Circuit de Catalunya, which hosts the second of four MotoGP races held in Spain this season.
The circuit is one of Valentino Rossi’s favorites, having served as the scene for nine of his victories, and while Nicky Hayden has only achieved one podium finish at the track, he also appreciates its fast, open layout.
In addition to working on a race setup, the riders and the Ducati Team engineers, headed by Filippo Preziosi, will try to confirm that the development work on the Desmosedici GP12 is heading in the right direction. On Monday, they’ll also take part in a post-race test.
VALENTINO ROSSI, Ducati Team
“Two Sundays ago, we got a nice result because we took advantage of the wet track, a condition in which we know we can be competitive, but we’re aware that we must continue improving in normal, dry conditions. Some of the things we tried in the Mugello test last week seemed promising. It will be interesting to try them on a different track, and with must less time to set the bike up, to see if they’re really a small step forward. The Catalunya circuit has always been one of my favorites, and although it’s hard to imagine another podium, we must still do our best to finish with the front riders.”
NICKY HAYDEN, Ducati Team
“Although I’ve struggled a bit at Catalunya the last few years, I do like the track, and it’s one of the calendar’s great GPs. It’s pretty wide, open and fast, and it’s really important to have good edge grip, especially in the last bit with all the long right-handers. Luckily we got some good weather in Mugello and were able to test a few things with setup, and I look forward to taking them to a race to see if we’ve really done any progress.”
VITTORIANO GUARESCHI, Team Manager
“First of all, I’d like to extend a thought to the people who were affected by the earthquake that struck the Emilia Romagna region, which we’re all deeply attached to, and in which Ducati and its workers are located. As for our work, we’ll continue giving our all. We’re going to Catalunya, which is a fast track with big, long corners that require good grip. It’s a good opportunity to check the work we’ve been doing. At Le Mans we confirmed that we’re competitive in the wet, but our main goal is still to reduce the gap to the front in the dry.”
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Jorge Lorenzo won the French Grand Prix this year and left Le Mans as the leader of the MotoGP World Championship. He might well have been the only person in the world who remembers the weekend for those reasons.
He is not the first and neither will he be the last rider to have his performance completely overshadowed by Valentino Rossi —and maybe the series is all the better for it.
It has been almost a year and a half since 'The Doctor' won his last premier class race — the 2010 Malaysian GP — and he has taken to the podium on just two occasions since his move to Ducati. Despite that, the Italian is still undoubtedly the biggest draw in motorsport. Go to any race, whatever the location, take a look around the grandstands and see how many fans are decked out in Rossi merchandise. Log on to any MotoGP forum and look at the avatars of the posters. There is still plenty of passion for Rossi and it isn't going away any time soon....
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/duncan-bishop/motogp-wounded-call-doctor-160536019.html
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MotoGP News. Fresh from his best Ducati finish, Valentino Rossi now heads to the scene of what remains his most competitive race for Ducati this weekend at Catalunya..
Rossi finished last year's Barcelona round in fifth place, but the 7.351sec margin between the Italian and race winner Casey Stoner remains the closest Rossi has been to victory on a Desmosedici.
For comparison, The Doctor's Ducati podiums - both at Le Mans - were claimed with a margin of 9.905sec (2012) and 14.564sec (2011) to victory.
There's no doubt that the wet second place last time out in France was a timely boost for the Italian, but Rossi remains realistic about his present podium chances in the dry....More here: http://www.crash.net/motogp/news/180266/1/valentino_rossi_realistic_heading_to_catalunya.html
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Valentino Rossi was a protagonist in an exciting, hard-fought race in wet conditions during the French Grand Prix at Le Mans, where he climbed from the third row of the grid to the second step of the podium. Nicky Hayden, despite an unfortunate start, worked his way up to sixth by the finish.... For the rest of this story click on the headline
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MotoGP News. “I want to race in MotoGP for the next two years. For sure” – Valentino Rossi.
During the same press conference that saw reigning world champion Casey Stoner announce his shock retirement from MotoGP at the end of this season, Valentino Rossi again insisted he plans to stay for two more years.
A recent report by the UK's Daily Telegraph newspaper had claimed Rossi planned to retire from MotoGP at the end of 2012.
The struggling nine time world champion quickly rejected the claim via Twitter and Thursday's press conference provided the opportunity for a face-to-face denial.
“For me it is very difficult to understand where the news start, because I never speak about my retirement and I want to race in MotoGP for the next two years. For sure,” said the 33-year-old Ducati rider....To read the rest of this story click on the headline link above
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Ducati is dedicated to addressing Valentino Rossi's concerns and transforming their Grand Prix program in hopes of retaining the Italian's services for 2013.
Meanwhile, Rossi has taken time to deny unattributed stories in Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper that he is planning to bail out of MotoGP even before the end of this season.
Telegraph writer Tom Cary, claiming only unnamed sources, says that Rossi could walk from Ducati as early as September after the Misano GP, and at the latest at the end of 2012.
Rossi has categorically denied the story saying, "The rumors about my retirement at the end of the year are not true. See you in Le Mans.”
Apart from Ducati's desire to continue with Rossi, no doubt subject to a more competitive bike, there is little doubt that Rossi does not want his career to end in failure.
For the rest of this story: http://moto-racing.speedtv.com/article/motogp-ducati-wants-rossi-to-return-in-2013/P2/
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Step into the Ducati Team box and meet Valentino Rossi's crew.
Ductalk Editors note - MotoGP.com blocks content on outside sites, but the click thru will work on YouTube
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The MotoGP World Championship is back in action this weekend in Portugal.
Following an enthralling race weekend at the inaugural European round in Jerez, the MotoGP World Championship heads across the border to contest the Gran Prémio de Portugal Circuito Estoril.
With all three races going right down to the wire, the riders have just four days to recover before testing their machines on the Estoril track, which combines a long straight, some tire-punishing corners, heavy braking zones, and a tricky chicane in between. Challenging enough as it is, riders and teams will be hoping for greatly improved weather conditions compared to the Spanish round, which provided different track conditions for almost every session.
Championship Leader Jorge Lorenzo, who won three years in a row at the Portuguese circuit between 2008 and 2010, will be looking to replicate that kind of form on board his Yamaha Factory Racing machine, as he looks to hold off the challenge from Repsol Honda Team pair Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa. ... For more click on the headline link above
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The rupture between the rider and the team is all too apparent: an urgent solution is required to avoid permanently compromising the credibility of two MotoGP legends.
No one in Borgo Panigale can keep a lid on the fireworks at the moment. Ducati Corse general manager Filippo Preziosi tried to deflect some of the sparks in Qatar the day after one of Valentino Rossi's most humiliating qualifying sessions in his career, when he was 2.1 seconds off pole and 1.1 seconds behind Hayden. But Preziosi's words in defence of the Italian's ability and shifting the blame for the poor performance to the team were not enough. Valentino's post-race comments in Losail ("We've run out of hope"; "It's not the bike I wanted") have left their mark, especially as they came after the first GP of the season. Ducati and Rossi are like a volcano you fear could erupt at any moment, with potentially devastating consequences for the image of both parties. One is being courted by Audi and certainly doesn't want its popularity and high repute to decline; the other is in the latter part of an unparalleled career with no intention of quitting the world of MotoGP – which he took to unimaginable heights – after failing with a difficult technical project. It would be a tough stain to remove....more here: http://english.gazzetta.it/Motor_sports/10-04-2012/vale-ducati-face-to-face-needed-the-image-of-both-is-at-stake-91889629105.shtml
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Ryder Notes: Things To Ponder Before Jerez
by julian ryder, on the ground in the uk
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Inevitably, the first subject has to be Valentino Rossi and Ducati. Things haven't improved on-track but they've definitely got worse off it. Valentino's post-race pronouncements, especially to Italian TV, were earth-shakingly pessimistic, undiplomatic and, frankly, shocking. They mark the end of the truce between the Italian champion, the iconic Italian manufacturer, the Italian public and the Italian media. Voices are already being raised, and not all of them critical of Ducati. It is very difficult to see how a relationship of trust can be re-established for the European season....more here: http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2012/Apr/120411rydernotes.htm
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We are in the middle of a desert, but it's nothing like the soft dunes of the old Dakar rally; here there is only rocks, sand and huge lighting towers to illuminate a track in the middle of nowhere. On the first day of school, Fenati and Iannone were the teachers pets, each just barely missing out on an A+, but they will have 17 more chances to hit the mark. The MotoGP race was all about Stoner and Lorenzo, but the Australian failed physical eduction. The CRT riders gave their best, but they might need to be held back for a year. Valentino Rossi played the class clown, and as the lights were being switched off at Qatar, the spotlight was left shining on his relationship with Ducati. But at least it wasn't boring.
The Good –
Read more: http://www.gpone.com/index.php/en/201204096585/Qatar-the-Good-the-Bad-the-Ugly.html#ixzz1rdysaWGI
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The Ducati Team riders will get to measure the progress of the Desmosedici GP12 against its competitors in a Grand Prix setting when the first round gets underway in Qatar this Thursday.
More...
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27,000 votes were cast on Crash.net and the interesting results are in:
http://www.crash.net/motogp/news/178211/1/results_valentino_rossis_best_looking_motogp_bike.html
Which do you think is Valentino Rossi's best looking 500cc/MotoGP bike?
Valentino Rossi's 2012 Ducati Desmosedici MotoGP race livery was unveiled during an online launch on Monday.
This year's Ducati is Rossi's 13th machine in the premier-class, spanning three different manufacturers and six different title sponsors.
But which, in your opinion, has been the best looking?
CLICK HERE to see a picture of each machine, in chronological order, and award a mark out of 10.
You can also explain your choice in the comments section below. The results will be revealed once voting closes at the end of this month.
All of Rossi's bikes are shown in their 'official' liveries, special one-off colours are not included...more
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Ducati ditches carbon fiber for aluminum, but factory MotoGP stars Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden are still struggling to match the speed of the Hondas and Yamahas.
A friend recently summed up the situation with Ducati in MotoGP: “They’re a bunch of engineers who fire any rider who doesn’t get with their program [Loris Capirossi, Troy Bayliss]. They stumble onto this kid Casey Stoner, who can just ride it, and he gives them a world championship. Then, they played around and lost the combination, so Stoner’s results thinned out, and he went to Honda, where he instantly made winning look easy again. Now, Ducati hires someone [Valentino Rossi] whose reputation is so huge they can’t fire him, yet somehow they can’t give him what Honda or what Yamaha gave him—bikes he can put up front. What gives?”
We all want to know.
We also all want to know what happened to unmentionable but invaluable sponsor Marlboro. The tobacco giant’s name isn’t on Ducati’s published list of sponsors, and it’s not on the bike. Is the Marlboro brand so huge that just the color red says enough? Would Marlboro hand over secret millions for that?
The current official line is that fresh changes being made to the 2012 bike will not be ready until the fourth race of the season. That doesn’t sound like any of the changes they have made so far: more-flexible forks, ball steering-head bearings instead of rollers, an FTR twin-aluminum-beam chassis instead of the Vincent-style “black pyramid” of carbon fiber, which bolted to the cylinder heads and rigidly carried the steering head....more
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Valentino Rossi has warned that Ducati cannot expect miracles in the 2012 MotoGP season opener in Qatar...
In the wake of a troubled pre-season - in which Rossi feels the team took the wrong direction initially - the Italian says Ducati will enter Doha neither 'too excited' nor 'too depressed'.
He also drew parallels between Ducati's situation and that of Ferrari in Formula 1, but said he did not know whether the team would be capable of an upset akin to Fernando Alonso's surprise victory in Malaysia.
"I don't know whether it's possible for us to do such a miracle in Doha," Rossi was quoted as saying in relation to Ferrari's Malaysian triumph by Gazzetta dello Sport.
"This is our real situation at this time: not too excited like at Sepang [test] one, nor so depressed like at Sepang two.
"I've told [Filippo] Preziosi [Ducati Corse general manager] what are the things that don't work. After the first test in Malaysia someone had some 'marvellous ideas' that turned out to be s**t."...more
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“We made some mistakes at Sepang II chasing a bad set-up. We changed the setup, first the rear and then the front, and now I enter the corners pretty well again”
After struggling to make meaningful progress throughout the second Sepang test, then opening two days at Jerez, Valentino Rossi concluded his 2012 MotoGP pre-season preparations on a positive note on Sunday.
The seven time MotoGP champion, who claimed a solitary podium during his debut Ducati season, had spoken enthusiastically of the new aluminium-frame GP12 during its Sepang I debut.
But the Italian was left 'worried' when his progress stalled during the second Malaysian test and the infamous front-end cornering problems then continued in Spain....more