Here it is, the long-awaited and much-hyped 2012 Ducati 1199 Panigale, unveiled just this morning as preparations are underway to begin the EICMA show in Milan all this week. The new flagship for Ducati was uncovered to the public alongside the entire 2012 range in a stylish press conference at the Teatro Dal Verme in Milan, Italy. Continue Reading »
Today, Ducati has revealed many telling details about the all-new 1199 Panigale “SuperQuadro” engine in anticipation of the machine’s complete unveiling next month at EICMA in Milan. Needless to say, with all the hype and buildup surrounding the 1199 Panigale, much of it has centered around the completely radical and highly oversquare engine that also acts as the main stressed member of the monocoque frame. The design goals were rather ambitious — 195 hp, among others —and as such, much of what we’ve come to expect from Ducati has been thrown out the window. In fact, only the desmodromic valve actuation and the 90-degree V-angle of the cylinders remain. We’ll have a full write-up on the details surrounding the engine tomorrow, but for now feast your eyes on Ducati’s latest teaser video after the jump. Continue Reading »
The World Superbike Championship is getting a branding makeover for 2012 as the production-based racing series marks its 25th anniversary.
The rebranding efforts will include a new logo as well as a new look for its television broadcasts. According to series promoter Infront Sports & Media, the new look “will be launched as a symbol for the on-gong development and innovation of the series”. The full brand relaunch in November at the EICMA show in Milan, Italy.
Valentino Rossi testing the 2012 version of the Ducati Desmosedici is usually big news, especially with the Italian moto-press. As the nine-time World Champion logs his laps on the GP12 at Italy’s Mugello circuit today, the bigger news is the other Ducati racebike sharing the track with the Doctor.
According to GPOne.com, Ducati is also testing its new 1200cc Superbike, the successor to the 1198R. Racer Danilo Petrucci, who currently sits second in the World Superstock Championship riding the Ducati 1098R for Team Barni, is reportedly riding the new racebike in both Superbike and Superstock variants.
Ernesto Marinelli, from Ducati Corse and currently Carlos Checa’s crew chief with Althea Ducati, is overseeing the Mugello test before hopping onto a plane for Utah for this weekend’s WSBK round at Miller Motorsports Park.
Checa will likely get his turn on the new Ducati Superbike soon while three-time WSBK Champion Troy Bayliss is also involved in the bike’s development.
[Source: GPOne.com]
We’re still in awe of a bizarre incident from the past weekend’s World Superbike Race at England’s Donington Park. If you haven’t heard what happened yet, check the video after the jump or read about it in our race report. We’ve seen crashes before where a rider lost control of his rear wheel, but not like this.
As he rounded the final turn on his sixth lap of Race One, the rear wheel of Team Supersonic racer Maxime Berger’s Ducati 1198 suddenly flew off while the Berger and the rest of the bike continued through the turn. Thankfully, the incident happened at perhaps the slowest section of the track and Berger was able to escape unharmed.
“The ring broke and I was lucky because he broke into a slow corner,” says Berger. “I found myself on the ground without knowing what happened.”
As we can see from the picture below, the spokes had sheared right off the hub. The team’s webpage says the Superbike uses Marchesini forged magnesium wheels but the orange label on the wheel identifies it as an Oz Racing wheel.
Check out the analysis of the crash from Eurosport’s studio panel of Tony Carter, Carl Fogarty, Neil Hodgson and James Haydon after the jump.
Australia’s Phillip Island Circuit was the home for the 2010 WSBK season opener and it provided no shortage of excitement.
Not only did Race 1 result in a photo finish, but there were plenty of crashes. The folks at WSBK posted a two-minute video featuring a myriad of crashes from the event, which you can see below the jump.
Of course, if you’re more interested in the racing than the crashing, you should also check out the highlights from Race 1 and the fantastic finish. Continue Reading »
The 2009 World Superbike Champion and 2010 MotoGP rookie, Ben Spies, was at the Indy Dealer Expo to sign autographs in the HJC booth.
Spies, who helped HJC develop the new FS-15 Air helmet, was one of the more popular attractions at the show.
2010 BMW S1000RR onboard Portimao with Troy Corser. Our first action video from the Portimao world launch of BMW’s new superbike. Tor Sagen has some fun on the bike first before we interview Troy…
On November 4, the same day that the Mavizen TTX02, the world’s first production electric superbike, was unveiled at the 2009 SEMA event in Las Vegas, TTXGP (Time Trial eXtreme Grand Prix) and Infineon Raceway of Sonoma, CA, announced a joint plan to run the “first-ever zero carbon motorcycle race in the United States.”
According to Infineon Raceway’s site, the TTXGP U.S. Championships will be held May 14-16, 2010, as part of the raceway’s AMA Motorcycle Sonoma Showdown weekend.
The first-ever electric race bike grand prix was held in conjunction with this year’s Isle of Man TT, and organized by TTXGP. The event was hailed a success, and TTXGP founder and producer of the Mavizen, Azhar Hussain, continues to ride the electric wave of support gained in the TT.
With the success of the TTXGP on the Isle of Man, we have shown that zero carbon technology is ready to deliver the thrills and passion for both spectators and riders, said Hussain.
Steve Page, president and general manager of Infineon Raceway, echoed Hussain’s electric fervor:
When it comes to development of zero carbon motorcycles, Northern California is the center of the industry, so it makes perfect sense that Infineon Raceway should host the first event in this historic new series.
Due to lack of investment interest, Vectrix looks like it will officially file for bankruptcy within the next 30 days and already have laid off all but essential staff. The electric scooter manufacture based in Rhode Island, produced its first model the VX-1 back in 2007, it had a great range on a full charge but couldn’t shake the main criticism, which was the hefty price tag.
After getting a first hand look at the Vectrix superbike concept at the Dealer Expo last year, I was excited to get our hands on one for a review, check out some shots of it after the jump.
