Nicky Hayden loses Ducati MotoGP seat for 2014
Nicky Hayden loses Ducati MotoGP seat for 2014
Nicky Hayden has confirmed that he will lose his Ducati MotoGP seat at the end of 2013.
The 2006 world champion has been a factory Ducati rider since ’09, when he joined from Honda.
Ducati has struggled in recent seasons and has not won a race since Casey Stoner’s triumph in the 2010 Australian Grand Prix.
Reports of a change in the rider line-up surfaced earlier this week, and Hayden acknowledged at Laguna Seca on Thursday that he would not be retained.
“I’m not coming back to Ducati in MotoGP. They’ve chosen to go a different way,” he said.
“Unfortunately these results the last few years haven’t been what we hoped. Nobody likes to get sacked, but that’s what happens.”
Hayden has only taken three podium finishes in his five and a half seasons with Ducati, the last of them at Jerez in 2011.
His last race victories came during his title-winning season in 2006.
2014 MOTOGP SEAT UNLIKELY
Hayden said he had options for 2014, but admitted they were unlikely to be in MotoGP.
“I really don’t know my future. I have a couple of things going, some interesting stuff,” he said.
“In MotoGP it doesn’t look so good. This is the biggest show in the world. MotoGP’s where my heart is. But I don’t just want to run around and try to get a point here or there.
“There are only so many seats in MotoGP. That’s tough. There are only 12 official bikes and most of them are spoken for.
“I’ll take in all the options, weigh them out, see which one I’m most excited about and see which one’s most fun.”
Ducati currently fields Hayden and Andrea Dovizioso as its works MotoGP riders, and placed Ben Spies and Andrea Iannone at the satellite Pramac team, only for both their seasons to be disrupted by injuries.
- Published in MotoGP
Ducati 848 Challenge Snetterton Round 3 300 5th – 7th July 2013
Ducati 848 Challenge Snetterton Round 3 300 5th – 7th July 2013
We arrived at Snetterton Thursday afternoon to set up & prepare for FP on Friday.
Free Practice: Jack went into a very sunny free practice to double check his
settings from the test a few weeks earlier, however, on the 7th lap, he had to abandon
practice due to engine issues and a belly pan full of oil. This unfortunate event
looked to put the whole team out of action for the entire weekend! However, with
the help of ItalSport & the Ducati 848 paddock family, we were able to find a spare
engine, a non Evo standard road engine, but a working engine none the less.
Everybody pulled together, and we worked until 1am changing the engines.
Lap Time: 2,01.070
Qualifying: With qualifying at 9am, the team were up early after a late night to get
Jack back on track for qualifying. Even though Jack had no idea on the power the
standard road engine was giving out, he went out with a positive mind, pushed and
pushed and qualified 11th which gave us a 3rd row start for Race 1!
Lap Time: 1,58.804
Race 1: With the tyres refreshed and a few changes made to the gearing, Jack went
out into a very hot dry Race 1. Unfortunately, but as expected, the engine lapsed on
the power Jack needed to gain positions, but he still managed to hold his ride and
finished in 12th.
Lap Time: 1,59.892
Race 2: We noticed that the gear changes we had made for Race 1 had put us at a
disadvantage, so we made more changes and tweaks, refreshed the tyres and headed
into Race 2. Jacks grid position had changed from the previous Race results, which
meant he now start from 14th on row 4. Again, Jack being his usual self, pushed and
pushed, but we just couldn’t find the power to gain many positions, he held his
ground and finished in 13th.
Lap Time: 1,58.981
Overview: Considering we blew our engine, ran a completely standard road engine
and Jack suffered the worst arm pump of the season, we persevered and came away
with points and now we look forward coming back fighting at Brands Hatch!
Massive Thanks to all our Sponsors, supporters and everyone that helped!
Jack Keen Racing #114
- Published in Jack Keen Racing
MV Agusta Brutale Corsa- First Look Review
MV Agusta Brutale Corsa- First Look Review
Now that MV Agusta has introduced the 800cc version of its compact Triple, the R&D department can get back to work on the larger-displacement four-cylinder models. First up is a hotter, more refined version of the top-of-the-line Brutale RR.
The Brutale Corsa is powered by the Brutale RR’s liquid-cooled, dohc, 16-valve, 1090cc inline-Four. Claimed output (158 horsepower at 11,900 rpm and 73.75 foot-pounds of torque at 10,100 rpm) is the same as that of the RR, but everything else has been updated.
An Öhlins 43mm NIX fork is standard, along with lightweight forged aluminum wheels, radial-mount Brembo Monobloc calipers pinching 320mm discs and a fully adjustable Sachs shock. Brake and clutch controls, as well as the related reservoir caps, and the rider’s footpegs, are machined from billet.
A hand-sewn seat and carbon-fiber fenders/license-plate holder give a touch of exclusivity to MV’s newest naked model. The graphics are also exclusive: a glossy black frame and a two-tone Pearl White/Pearl Red paint.
Price in Italy for the MV Agusta Brutale Corsa is 20,990 euros or $26,989 at current exchange rates.
- Published in Motorcycle Review
Marc Marquez dominates the German MotoGP
SPANISH rookie Marc Marquez earned his second win of the season with victory at the German MotoGP at Sachsenring on Sunday to go top of the championship standings.
The 20-year-old hit the front early and built up his lead to claim victory with Britain’s Cal Crutchlow second and six-times world MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi third.
Marquez’s winning time was 41min 14.653sec over the 30 laps with Crutchlow 1.559s back and Rossi coming home more than nine seconds further back.
With title leaders Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo both absent after collarbone injuries, pole sitter Marquez lost ground at the start to find himself fourth by the first bend.
With title leaders Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo both absent after collarbone injuries, pole sitter Marquez lost ground at the start to find himself fourth by the first bend.
But he hit back, taking the lead from home hero Stefan Bradl along the main straight on the third lap.
Marquez, in his first MotoGP campaign, was following up his Grand Prix of the Americas victory in Texas in April. He has finished on the podium in all seven races he has finished in 2013, his retirement at the Italian MotoGP the only blot.
Victory allowed Marquez to overtake compatriot and Honda teammate Pedrosa, who was forced out after fracturing his collarbone in Saturday’s practice, to go top of the world standings with 138 points – two clear of Pedrosa.
Reigning world champion Lorenzo was ruled out of the race on Friday, when he injured the same left collarbone he broke two weeks ago and underwent surgery on Saturday in Barcelona to reinsert a supporting plate.
”I’m happy, it’s great to win, but you shouldn’t forget that both Pedrosa and Lorenzo weren’t here,” said Marquez.
”I hadn’t expected to control the race like that.”
Both Yahama Tech 3’s Crutchlow and Rossi on the Yahama factory bike complained about losing grip on their rear tyres, but the British rider produced a brave performance after twice crashing in Friday’s practice session.
”I was trying to catch him (Marquez). I had a good start, even though it might not have looked like it. I struggled a bit with the rear tyre,” said Crutchlow who raced with an injured hand.
”I am pleased with the finish position we had here, having come off the floor twice on Friday.
”It’s not been a great weekend and I admit I don’t feel great.”
Rossi, who picked up his first win for three years a fortnight ago in Assen, admitted he had hoped to finish higher.
”I am happy, but I had thought I’d do better,” said the 34-year-old.
”I had a few problems with the rear tyres – we just have to keep working hard.”
RESULTS – German MotoGP, Sachsenring
1. Marc MARQUEZ (Honda) 41m14.653s
2. Cal CRUTCHLOW (Yamaha) +1.559s
3. Valentino ROSSI (Yamaha) +9.620s
4. Stefan BRADL (Honda) +13.992s
5. Alvaro BAUTISTA (Honda) +21.775s
6. Bradley SMITH (Yamaha) +25.080s
7. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (Ducati) +30.027s
8. Aleix ESPARGARO (ART) +30.324s
9. Nicky HAYDEN (Ducati) +45.355s
10. Michele PIRRO (Ducati) +47.142s
11. Hector BARBERA (FTR) +47.824s
12. Randy DE PUNIET (ART) +48.523s
13. Colin EDWARDS (FTR Kawasaki) +54.428
14. Danilo PETRUCCI (Ioda-Suter) +1m00.323s
15. Claudio CORTI (FTR Kawasaki) +1m05.530s
16. Michael LAVERTY (PBM) +1m09.153s
17. Hiroshi AOYAMA (FTR) +1m15.601s
18. Karel ABRAHAM (ART) +1m19.683s
19. Lukas PESEK (Ioda-Suter) +1 Lap
DNF Bryan STARING (FTR Honda) 27 laps
DNF Yonny HERNANDEZ (ART) 1 lap
- Published in MotoGP
German MotoGP: Lorenzo back on top in FP1, Ducati nightmare
German MotoGP: Lorenzo back on top in FP1, Ducati nightmare
Factory Ducati star Andrea Dovizioso has one new chassis this weekend – but it lasted just ten minutes before being thrown down the road in dramatic style at the fearsome turn 11 downhill right-hander, when the Italian lost the front in the cool morning conditions.
Just minutes later team-mate Nicky Hayden, still on the standard machine, saved a massive tank-slapper in almost the same place – using all his dirt track skills to keep control of the bucking machine as it veered onto the grass.
Pramac Ducati’s Andrea Iannone, who has switched to the ‘lab’ bike – newer spec but slightly older than Dovizioso’s frame – then fell through the same section after losing the front at the halfway mark of the 45 minute session.
Iannone’s GP13 flipped repeatedly in the gravel, breaking the swingarm and rear wheel section off!
In the meantime, Lorenzo – who had claimed a shock fifth place in the Assen race, less than two days after surgery – was leading the timesheets. Team-mate Valentino Rossi, winner of the Dutch round, later slotted into second ahead of Honda’s Marc Marquez, a leader early in the session.
Lap times continued to evolve, with Lorenzo setting his best on lap 19 of 20, while Honda’s world championship leader Dani Pedrosa moved into a late second place, just 0.174s from Lorenzo. That bumped Rossi to a close third (+0.194s) and rookie Marquez to fourth (+.350s).
Home star Stefan Bradl made an appearance at the top on his way to fifth for Honda LCR (+0.413s), with Crutchlow sixth for Tech 3 Yamaha and the final rider within one second of Lorenzo.
The Englishman fell heavily at turn one at the very end of the session, sending the triple 2013 podium finisher bouncing through the gravel. Crutchlow was slow to get up but eventually walked away.
Top CRT rider Aleix Espargaro was just 0.594s from Lorenzo on his Aspar Aprilia, with Hayden, Alvaro Bautista (Gresini Honda) and Dovizioso completing the top ten.
Avintia’s Hiroshi Aoyama returned to MotoGP action this morning after suffering finger injuries, including the loss of a fingertip, after falling during practice in Catalunya.
Pedrosa, who leads the standings by nine points from Lorenzo, has won the last three German MotoGPs.
Free practice (1):
1. Jorge Lorenzo
2. Dani Pedrosa
3. Valentino Rossi
4. Marc Marquez
5. Stefan Bradl
6. Cal Crutchlow
7. Aleix Espargaro
8. Nicky Hayden
9. Alvaro Bautista
10. Andrea Dovizioso
11. Randy De Puniet
12. Andrea Iannone
13. Hector Barbera
14. Yonny Hernandez
15. Bradley Smith
16. Michele Pirro
17. Colin Edwards
18. Danilo Petrucci
19. Hiroshi Aoyama
20. Claudio Corti
21. Bryan Staring
22. Michael Laverty
23. Karel Abraham
24. Lukas Pesek
- Published in MotoGP
Valentino Rossi Has the Longest Winning Career in the Premier Class
Valentino Rossi Has the Longest Winning Career in the Premier Class
When it comes to overall wins, Rossi is still well behind the all-time record of 122 victories held by Giacomo Agostini, but if we count the podiums, the Doctor is the rider with the most top 3 placements, with 179 versus Agostini’s 159.
However, the 2013 MotoGP season could bring down Loris Capirossi’s record for the longest time between the first and the last win. Capirossi had 17 years and 49 days between his first and his last GP victories, while Rossi is now at 16 years and 345 days between his inaugural victory in the 125 Czech GP at Brno in 1996 and his latest accolade in the Netherlands at Assen.
If Valentino Rossi wins at Sepang in Malaysia on October 13th, then he will become the rider with the longest win span in the series.
As for the Premier Class, Rossi already has the longest victory span, with 12 years and 355 days spent between his initial 500GP victory at Donington Park in 2000 and the Assen success. With his Dutch victory, Rossi sends Alex Barros down to the second position in this top with 11 years and 204 days, while Phil Read is in the third place with 11 years and 16 days.
Some said the MotoGP was to be boring this year, but it looks like they were so wrong…
- Published in MotoGP
Dovizioso to race new MotoGP Ducati GP13 at the Sachsenring – MotoGP news
Dovizioso to race new MotoGP Ducati GP13 at the Sachsenring – MotoGP news
Andrea Dovizioso will switch to an updated version of Ducati’s Desmosedici GP13 for this weekend’s MotoGP race at the Sachsenring.
The ‘laboratory’ bike has been ridden at select weekends this year by Michele Pirro, and was first offered to the factory riders during a test at Mugello in early June – although Dovizioso was underwhelmed with its improvements and elected not to use it for the recent Dutch TT.
A three-day private test at Misano last week reassured him that the team had made tangible progress with its new bike however.
“We did a good job last week at Misano, so for the first time, Andrea will bring the ‘new’ bike for a race weekend,” team manager Vittoriano Guareschi confirmed.
“It will be very interesting to see how it works at the Sachsenring after the positive impressions he had at Misano.
“As for Nicky [Hayden], he did some good lap times at the test, and he’ll continue with the current bike.
“The Sachsenring is a track where anything can happen, including with the weather, but we head to Germany expecting to do well.”
Dovizioso, who struggled to keep pace with CRT machines and came home a lowly 10th at Assen, said he is looking forward to evaluating the new bike over a race weekend.
“I don’t know how the Sachsenring will be for us; as is the case at many tracks this year, this one will be new for me with the Ducati,” he said.
“It’s a small circuit, but it’s very complicated. I’m not crazy about it, but I’m curious to see how the Desmosedici will go there.
“We knew Assen wasn’t one of the easiest tracks for us, but we certainly didn’t ever expect all the problems we had.
“Still, we go to the Sachsenring as we always do: determined to get the best result possible.”
- Published in MotoGP
Ducati Motor. Authentic Italian Performance.
Ducati Motor, Authentic Italian Performance.
- Published in Motorcycles
Triumph gears up for India ops with a change in plans
Triumph gears up for India ops with a change in plans
According to the new plan, Triumph Motorcycles will start assembling completely knocked-down (CKD) kits at a factory in the Gurgaon-Manesar area in Haryana, a departure from its earlier plan to build a factory at Narsapura, near Bangalore.
The company’s manufacturing plans in Karnataka will be implemented later, two of the three people cited above said. It is, however, unclear whether the company has bought land in Haryana to start an assembly plant or it will use the manufacturing facilities of a vendor.
“They want to test the Indian market. The Gurgaon-Manesar belt will act as a stepping stone,” one of the three people familiar with the matter said. “At Narsapura, a full-fledged manufacturing facility will come up in 2015.”
All three declined to be named.
The company has opened a purchasing office in Gurgaon and hired a consultant to recruit in India, according to the second person cited above. “They want to get over with the recruitment process by end July.”
Local assembly will help the company save on import taxes and reduce the cost of the motorcycles sold in India.
India imposes an import duty of 60% on completely built vehicles, 30% on semi knocked-down kits and 10% on completely knocked-down units.
“We will shortly be holding a full press briefing on our planned activity in India, and would prefer to hold off on any communication until that time,” a Triumph spokesperson said. “We will be in touch as soon as the firm plans for this briefing have been made.”
The Hindu Businessline newspaper in May 2012 reported that Triumph Motorcycles then planned to set up a factory near Bangalore at a cost of Rs.215 crore.
The company’s proposal was approved by the Karnataka state high level clearance committee. The committee has approved the allotment of 30 acres of land at Narsapura Industrial Area in Kolar district, the report said.
The company had then said it would assemble some of these models locally. While some of Harley’s models in India are locally assembled, BMW and Ducati have been selling imported units.
“Harley has managed to make an instant connect with the buyers in this niche segment. No doubts there will be buyers who would have waited for Triumph, but that initial momentum has been seized by Harley,” he said.
Harley sells at least 80-90 motorcycles a month, while the estimated size of the market is a little over 2,000 units a year.
- Published in Motorcycles