Ducati motogp

Morbidelli lost his ride with Yamaha for next season earlier this year as he continued to struggle to recapture his past form on the factory M1. Initially linked to a switch to VR46 to ride a year-old Ducati next season, Marco Bezzecchi 's decision not to go to Pramac opened the door for 2020 championship runner-up Morbidelli to secure a factory-spec GP24. Ahead of this weekend's inaugural Indian Grand Prix, Pramac and Ducati confirmed Morbidelli's signing for 2024. This move will see all four VR46 Academy members on the current grid riding Ducati machinery. "I don't know if it will change for me and for us in terms of training," Bagnaia said of Morbidelli's appointment at Pramac Ducati. "I'm just happy to have Franky on the Ducati because I think he deserves this possibility. For sure the last years in Yamaha for him were not the best situation possible. "He arrived from an injury in 2021 and he arrived from a very old bike to a new bike, and it was not such a big … [Read more...] about Bagnaia: Morbidelli deserves factory Ducati MotoGP bike in 2024

Home Off beat Ducati India rolled out an exclusive event hosted at the Italian Embassy in New Delhi. The event marked the presence of MotoGP riders, Ducati bike owners, representatives from Ducati Owners Clubs, Channel Partners, the Italian Ambassador to India and embassy personnel. -Irwin Mills By Irwin Mills Updated: Saturday, September 23, 2023, 12:56 [IST] An exclusive social event, hosted by Ducati India, took place at the prestigious grounds of the Italian Embassy in New Delhi. This singular event drew an impressive crowd, including Ducati bike owners, representatives from Ducati Owners Clubs, Channel Partners, the Italian Ambassador to India, H.E. Vincenzo Deluca, and additional embassy personnel. The event featured a special delegation of MotoGP riders from Italy. Some of the key attendees include Ducati Corse's Sporting Director Paolo Ciabatti, Ducati Lenovo's Test rider Michele Pirro, and riders Marco Bezzechi, Luca Marini, … [Read more...] about Ducati India: Bringing MotoGP To Italian Embassy!

Since the sprint race at the Barcelona round earlier this month, Bagnaia has seen his championship lead whittled down from 66 points to just 13 ahead of this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi. After crashing out of second last weekend in India , Bagnaia admitted he had been suffering “big problems” with braking in recent races, allowing his Ducati colleagues Jorge Martin and Marco Bezzecchi to close up to him in the title battle. FEATURE: 10 things we learned from the 2023 MotoGP Indian GP Asked whether he'd had a chance to study the issues together with the factory Ducati squad since the Buddh round, the championship leader said that watching back footage of recent races had revealed that the rear of his Desmosedici bike is “doing something strange”. “[The team and I] spoke yesterday, today and Monday night,” said Bagnaia in the pre-event press conference at Motegi on Thursday. “At 3am I was watching every video of the braking points of Buddh, Barcelona, … [Read more...] about Bagnaia ‘watching videos until 3am’ to understand Ducati MotoGP braking woes

The reigning champion was an encouraging second-fastest on the opening day of the Motegi weekend, only 0.029 seconds shy of pacesetter Brad Binder on the KTM. Both Binder and Bagnaia, as well as third-placed Aprilia rider Aleix Espargaro , eclipsed the eight-year-old Motegi lap record that was set by Jorge Lorenzo in FP2. Having arrived in Japan off the back of a crash in last weekend’s Indian GP that has left him only 13 points clear in the title race, Bagnaia said he and Ducati were working on a solution to the braking woes that have plagued him since his last win in Austria. The Italian rider said after Friday practice that he feels he has the Desmosedici working the way he wants again after a run of difficult races. “I feel back on the braking,” said Bagnaia. “I can force a lot of the braking and I can take a deep breath on that because I was struggling too much on the last two race weekends, so finally I am happy for that. “Still I am missing something to be … [Read more...] about Bagnaia can take “deep breath” after solving Ducati MotoGP braking issues

The 2021 world champion was left disappointed with Yamaha’s 2024 engine prototype at the Misano test last week, noting that he “expected much better”. “I tested it and the feeling was… I expected much better from this test, but we have to stay positive and try to analyse what happened to improve for [the] Valencia test,” Quartararo said at the time. “I need to test it more, but like I said I expected better. “The feeling is different, but I think I expected more power and [it] was a little bit difficult to say something positive about this engine.” These comments were in stark contrast to Yamaha team director Massimo Meregalli’s, who told motogp.com: “We could get what we expected before we started riding. “We had some targets to reach. Anyway, the new engine is slightly faster, as we expected, consistently. It looks like it’s also easier to ride.” Quartararo’s best speed during the San Marino GP weekend was 298.3km/h in the sprint, while his top speed in the test was … [Read more...] about Quartararo: Yamaha’s MotoGP form will be worse if rider, team “not aligned”

Kokubu has been a mainstay at the Japanese manufacturer for over three decades, having joined Honda in 1986, working on its MotoGP project and even briefly in Formula 1. He did not travel to India last week and is also not present at Motegi for the Japanese Grand Prix, and will most likely be followed in a few months by Tetsuhiro Kuwata, who has a more administrative than technical role. Kokubu's time with Honda in MotoGP is especially significant, having been responsible for the chassis of the RC211V raced by the marque in 2003 right at the beginning of the four-stroke era of the premier class. With that chassis, Honda won two world championships with Valentino Rossi and a third with Nicky Hayden before the RC212V was introduced for 2007 at the start of the 800cc era. In 2008, Kokubu was appointed as project leader of the RC212V and became technical director in 2012, before taking on the role as general manager of Honda's technical and development division in 2016. … [Read more...] about Honda makes significant technical reshuffle amid Marquez MotoGP future uncertainty

Crutchlow is making a one-off MotoGP appearance this weekend at the Japanese Grand Prix for Yamaha in order to evaluate a raft of items to aid 2024 development. Due to the regulations, Crutchlow is not allowed to test the 2024 engine prototype that was brought to the Misano test and which Fabio Quartararo said he “expected much more” from. Top speed has been a continual complaint from Yamaha riders, but Crutchlow believes more power is not what the M1 needs. Instead, development must focus on having a smoother power delivery, which he thinks will improve the Yamaha’s lack of rear grip and improve its top speed. “It’s all down to the engine,” Crutchlow said on Friday after finishing practice 16th. “We have the riders asking more power and we don’t need more power, we need a smoother engine. “This is the biggest problem. Let’s say we have 300 horsepower… let’s say all the bikes have 300 horsepower. On the exit of any corner, you don’t use 300 horsepower – you use 200 … [Read more...] about Crutchlow: Yamaha MotoGP bike “needs less power” despite rider demands

Marc Marquez has the entire world neatly in the palm of his hands, hanging off his every word as the saga around his future plans for 2024 seemingly nears its conclusion. The eight-time world champion has a contract with Honda in MotoGP for next season, a fact he has repeatedly stated as uncertainty over his future continues. That hasn’t stopped shock links to Gresini Ducati emerging and persisting. They persist, however, because Marquez wants them to. Insight: How Ducati could be the key to reviving Honda's fortunes with Marquez By now, his struggles on the RC213V this season are well documented. His rather glum first impressions of Honda’s 2024 prototype he tried at the Misano test last week did nothing to dispel thoughts among many that he will, in fact, break contract with Honda. Then he tells Spanish media the day after that “the commitment is this: to try to succeed with Honda, whether in one year, two or three”. At the Misano test he outlined his deadline for … [Read more...] about How one Marquez’s MotoGP switch can inspire another

For a country the size of India, home to the world’s biggest market for two-wheelers, it is quite surprising that no rider has managed to come up the ranks and gain a place in the premier class of motorcycle racing. Indeed, apart from a wildcard appearance in the Moto3 class for national champion KY Ahamed, there will be no representation from India in the country’s first-ever home event. However, turn the clock a few years back and Mahindra was an important part of the grand prix ladder, supplying bikes and honing up-and-coming riders in what was originally the 125cc class before it morphed into the present-day Moto3 series in 2012. Admittedly, the Mahindra MG030 package was the weakest on the grid and the bike was no match to its Honda, KTM or Kalex rivals, despite some significant upgrades over the years. However, many riders spent their formative years racing with Mahindra, and continue to credit the Indian manufacturer for the success they currently enjoy in MotoGP. … [Read more...] about How Indian heritage props up MotoGP’s leading championship contenders