Comments on: With Four New Factory Bikes, and a New German Boss, Ducati Readies Itself for 2013 Campaign (News)

By: Brian

Brian — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 01:16:13 +0000

so they want to be competitive.
They scheduled their winter testing in Spain, where the weather is typically rainy? not the best planning if they wanted to get some quality testing in is it?
Hopefully management makes a few other critical decisions with better judgement…

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By: OneWhoKnoas

OneWhoKnoas — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 22:23:46 +0000

Ben was pretty much immune to everything when he was teamed with the brutally competitive and abrasive Matt Mladin, maybe living the good life on Lake Como took the fire out of his belly.

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By: Roberto

Roberto — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 04:43:19 +0000

I’d have to call Capirossi’s 2006 season competitive:

Seas Class Moto Team Race Win Pod Pole FLap Pts Plcd
2006 MotoGP DucatiGP6 Ducati 17 3 8 2 5 229 3rd

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By: Norm G.

Norm G. — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 19:15:10 +0000

re: “On the other hand it will probably be a good race between the 4 to see who’s going to finish 8th as the top non-Honda/Yamaha. Or if they are racing with the CRT bikes again.”

more like who’s going to be racing ON crt bikes.

(and then there were 2)

if were to hazard a guess, i’d say they have no intentions of running 4 factory bikes forever and their lack of changes are deliberate.

they are not competing against honda/yamaha at this point… unbeknownst to the riders they have been put in competion against EACH OTHER (standard corporate procedure). right now there are 2 italians too many and 2 americans too many. it’s a shakeout to see which gringo and which italian “advance to the lightning round”.

the 2 men left standing will form the factory team and THEIR feedback will be used to develop the kit to it’s winning form. russians don’t take a dump without a plan and german austerity doesn’t spend money willy-nilly. before they open the purse strings they need to figure out which “driver” (remember they’re from car world) has data they can trust.

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By: Craig Jackman

Craig Jackman — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 15:46:45 +0000

Since there has been exactly ONE competitive Ducati MotoGP rider in the past decade … and he’s retired now … I won’t be holding my breath. On the other hand it will probably be a good race between the 4 to see who’s going to finish 8th as the top non-Honda/Yamaha. Or if they are racing with the CRT bikes again.

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By: HotDog

HotDog — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 13:42:34 +0000

BS! He rolled over and showed his soft underbelly. He should’ve sucked it up and taken his medicine standing up. He quit at a embarrassing time for Yamaha, at least they were accomidating to the end. I don’t want a “Choir Boy” mentality on a fire breathing machine but a rough and tumble professional twisting the wick. Oh poor Ben, I hope nobody looks at him wrong.

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By: Roberto

Roberto — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 04:37:24 +0000

“Meet the new boss, same as the old boss…” ???

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By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 00:19:45 +0000

Suzuki used a 60-65* angle and for most of the past 10 years Ducati has finished better than them. That dimension is not so critical to performance, otherwise the Yamaha would be unbeatable.

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By: Norm G.

Norm G. — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 20:25:45 +0000

re: “Firstly, the way the company welcomed me was overwhelming and I felt like being introduced to a big family. The first impressions on the human side were exceptional and this will of course will help to create a good motivational basis for working together”

yup, motivation through fear. it’s amazing what the thought of termination from a job you worked at for more than a decade by a new owner can accomplish.

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By: Norm G.

Norm G. — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 20:12:21 +0000

re: “I wish them well but don’t see them getting the bike’s handling issues totally correct until they abandon the 90 degree V engine architecture.”

omg, somebody strap me in a wheelchair and push me down a flight o’ steps already.

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