Motorsports

Ben Spies announced his decision of leaving the factory Yamaha team in MotoGP at the end of the 2012 season, during the Laguna Seca GP last month. There were rumours of him going back to the World Superbike Championship (WSBK) to ride a factory BMW S1000RR alongside Marco Melandri.

However, we hear that the British rider Leon Haslam has been offered a new deal by BMW to continue riding as their factory rider in WSBK next year while Spies is in talks with the Gresini Honda MotoGP team for the 2013 season. If the deal works out, Spies will replace Alvaro Bautista in the Gresini team and may get to ride a factory spec RC213V machine with full support from HRC.

Along with that, Spies is also discussing the possibility of working with Suzuki for the development of their 1000cc GSV-R MotoGP bike. It will involve a few wild races for him next year and maybe the entire 2014 season as a factory Suzuki rider.

 

 

 

 

Ben Spies announced his decision of leaving the factory Yamaha team in MotoGP at the end of the 2012 season, during the Laguna Seca GP last month. There were rumours of him going back to the World Superbike Championship (WSBK) to ride a factory BMW S1000RR alongside Marco Melandri.

However, we hear that the British rider Leon Haslam has been offered a new deal by BMW to continue riding as their factory rider in WSBK next year while Spies is in talks with the Gresini Honda MotoGP team for the 2013 season. If the deal works out, Spies will replace Alvaro Bautista in the Gresini team and may get to ride a factory spec RC213V machine with full support from HRC.

Along with that, Spies is also discussing the possibility of working with Suzuki for the development of their 1000cc GSV-R MotoGP bike. It will involve a few wild races for him next year and maybe the entire 2014 season as a factory Suzuki rider.

 

 

 

 

The MotoGP paddock is all abuzz with Ducati and Andrea Dovizioso having reached an agreement that will see the Italian wearing the colours of the Ducati Team in 2013 and 2014.

Andrea Dovizioso currently sits in fourth place overall in the MotoGP championship standings and will soon join Nicky Hayden on the team. The pair will face the next season together, working on development of the Desmosedici and the MotoGP project for the championship. President Gabriele Del Torchio had this to say, “It is with great pleasure that I welcome Andrea, as we marshal our best efforts in confronting the MotoGP World Championship. Along with Nicky Hayden, with whom we have renewed a working agreement, we are confident that we will be able to proceed with our development program, to compete, and to obtain the results and rewards that will repay our efforts and the faith.”

“Andrea’s technical sensibility and test-riding abilities are of great value, as are his talent and determination,” added Filippo Preziosi, General Manager of Ducati Corse. Andrea has done well for himself before and this new partnership will a great opportunity for him to take his racing career to the next level.

Andrea rode a bike for the first time at 4 years old, and at 7 he competed in his first minibike race. In 2000 he won the Aprilia Challenge trophy, and in 2001 he finished fourth in the Italian Championship. In 2008 he moved up to MotoGP, where he has achieved one victory so far (England, 2009) and twenty-one podiums.

The MotoGP paddock is all abuzz with Ducati and Andrea Dovizioso having reached an agreement that will see the Italian wearing the colours of the Ducati Team in 2013 and 2014.

Andrea Dovizioso currently sits in fourth place overall in the MotoGP championship standings and will soon join Nicky Hayden on the team. The pair will face the next season together, working on development of the Desmosedici and the MotoGP project for the championship. President Gabriele Del Torchio had this to say, “It is with great pleasure that I welcome Andrea, as we marshal our best efforts in confronting the MotoGP World Championship. Along with Nicky Hayden, with whom we have renewed a working agreement, we are confident that we will be able to proceed with our development program, to compete, and to obtain the results and rewards that will repay our efforts and the faith.”

“Andrea’s technical sensibility and test-riding abilities are of great value, as are his talent and determination,” added Filippo Preziosi, General Manager of Ducati Corse. Andrea has done well for himself before and this new partnership will a great opportunity for him to take his racing career to the next level.

Andrea rode a bike for the first time at 4 years old, and at 7 he competed in his first minibike race. In 2000 he won the Aprilia Challenge trophy, and in 2001 he finished fourth in the Italian Championship. In 2008 he moved up to MotoGP, where he has achieved one victory so far (England, 2009) and twenty-one podiums.

Carlin Dunne dominated the 2012 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, setting the new course record for motorcycles today from pole position for the second year in a row on a Ducati Multistrada 1200 S.

This win marks Ducati’s third-straight victory at the historic “Race to the Clouds”. Both Dunne and Spider Grips Ducati teammate and six-time winner Greg Tracy finished the race under the 10-minute barrier, which is a first for any motorcycle in the race’s 90-year history. Dunne crossed the finish line at the 14,110-foot summit of Pikes Peak with the record-setting time of 9:52.819, beating his previous record of 11:11.32, while Tracy was less than six seconds behind, placing second with 9:58.262.

“Today was an emotional day,” said Dunne. “The year of work the Spider Grips Ducati team put into preparing for Pikes Peak got us across the finish line in under 10 minutes, an achievement we’re very proud of. When we heard that we won and broke the record for the second time, I was speechless. The one-two finish proves the Ducati Multistrada 1200 S is the ultimate bike to conquer Pikes Peak.”

Dunne reached speeds above 144mph (230kmh)  throughout the mountain’s straights, and traversed 156 turns, ranging from hairpin, blind, decreasing radius, and multi-apex turns, while consistently gaining elevation up the technical 12.42-mile (20km) course. The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, or “Race to the Clouds”, is situated in a range of the Rocky Mountains, 16km west of Colorado Springs and races from a start line altitude of 2,862 metres (9,389ft) to a finish line at 4,300 (14,100ft).

“Ducatisti around the world are celebrating the victory of Carlin Dunne and the Spider Grips Ducati Team – we are all very proud,” said Dominique Cheraki, General Manager of Ducati North America. “Three years ago we chose the Multistrada 1200 S to compete at Pikes Peak to showcase its on-and-off road capabilities, class-leading ergonomics, handling, and performance. When we were alerted that the entire course would be paved in 2012, there was no doubt that the Multistrada 1200 S was still the right choice and breaking the record today proves this.”