Bernhard Gobmeier sounded cautiously optimistic about Ducati‘s MotoGP program, speaking at the Wrooom 2013 event following the unveiling of the Desmsedici GP13 racebike.

Taking over as general manager of Ducati Corse, Gobmeier acknowledged his team had a lot of ground to make up if it hopes to pose a serious threat to Honda and Yamaha. Ducati got an early start on developing its 2013 program halfway through the 2012 season when it became apparent the Desmosedici GP12 was not competitive enough against the RC213V and the M1. That also means the GP13 as it is now isn’t that much different from the one that ended last season.

“The challenge that lies ahead is a big one and everybody is curious as to what we are going to do to close the gap to our rivals,” says Gobmeier. “We must work in a lot of different areas where we can make the difference. We have already made some positive changes to the team structure, and we have some ideas for the development of the bike. I prefer to speak about evolution rather than revolution and with this in mind first we want to evaluate the material developed in the second half of last year. I think that with this approach we can improve the performance of the bike in the short term but we are also working on new solutions which down the road in 2013 will be implemented into the race bike.” Continue Reading »

(Updated with high-resolution studio photos of the factory Desmosedici GP13 racebikes.)

Ducati factory riders Nicky Hayden and Andrea Dovizioso along with the junior Ducati Pramac team of Ben Spies and Andrea Iannone pulled the covers of the Desmosedici GP13, revealing the race bikes they will ride for the 2013 MotoGP Championship.

The four riders revealed their Desmosedicis on a snow-covered mountain in the Dolomites in Italy as part of Wrooom 2013, an annual ski event held jointly by Ducati Corse and Ferrari‘s Formula One racing program.

The 2013 season marks a number of changes for the Ducati MotoGP program. The biggest change is Ducati’s new owners Audi and the newly-appointed Bernhard Gobmeier who replaces Filippo Preziosi as general manager of Ducati Corse. The popular and charismatic Valentino Rossi is gone after two disappointing seasons, replaced by another Italian in Dovizioso. Another big change is the Pramac satellite team which will receive factory support. Continue Reading »

Ducati has named Bernhard Gobmeier the new general manager of Ducati Corse, handing the former BMW Superbike racing director the reins to the company’s racing program. Gobmeier replaces Filippo Preziosi (pictured above) who will be reassigned to the post of director of research and development for Ducati, shifting his focus from racing to developing new products.

The personnel change carries two storylines. On the one hand, Preziosi’s tenure as GM of Ducati Corse was a disappointing period for the factory MotoGP program, highlighted by the two disastrous seasons with Valentino Rossi and the continuing struggle to make the Desmosedici race bike competitive.

The other plot thread is the appointment of a German to lead the Italian manufacturer’s racing program. Ducati is now, of course, owned by Audi, and the appointment of Gobmeier has the German automaker’s fingerprints all over it. As the official announcement reads, Gobmeier’s role is to “to enter the new phase of development for Ducati’s racing activities and to achieve the targets set during the recent acquisition by the Audi Group.” Continue Reading »