While everyone is still discussing Valentino Rossi’s QatarGP post race interview (video after the jump) and wondering why Ducati hasn’t gone beyond a simple no comment to Sky Sport adding only that their rider’s comments were ’strange,’ the struggling former World Champion decided to post this video of him racing against his father Graziano at the Biscia (Snake) Motoranch.

The video resumes a heated duel between the two, only ten year’s later. Commenting as always is the great Mauro Sanchini, World Superbike technical commentator on LA7 and super fan of Ben Spies.

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While Clinica Mobile is now being run by Dr. Michele Machiagodena who is employed directly by Dorna and they've added three specialists from the Dexeus Clinic in Barcelona, the famed Dr.Claudio Costa who founded it and has been not only a doctor but a friend to riders for the last three decades has decided to talk about Valentino Rossi's problems in his own personal way.

The two had a small falling out on how to treat Rossi's injuries following the MX training crash and his leg fracture that hampered his 2010 season and part of 2011, but Costa's esteem for the former World Champion is still high.

Dr. Costa was a guest of Faenza's Tele1 to record an episode of Speed ​​which will air tomorrow night at 11pm and naturally the conversation turned to Valentino Rossi and his 10th place in Qatar, and with his usual liberal use of metaphors, allegories and philosophical and poetic ramblings, the good doctor tried to explain the situation.

"For Valentino it's like going to the movies where the show has already begun without him. He's in a dark room and can't see anything. He doesn't know where to go and feels frightened. A terrible feeling, which only lasts a few seconds, the time to get used to the darkness and the contours of the room become more clearer. As soon as you understand where to put your feet you recover consciousness and head purposefully towards the empty seat. Rossi needs to see the light and should not be afraid of this moment in the dark. "

Dr. Costa also wanted to erase any doubts from fans minds that think Valentino hasn't gotten over his Mugello injury, "For a rider, scars heal faster in the brain than on the flesh. Rossi will come out of his black hole, he just needs time, but he'll return to the podium to make his dream come true. "

Source | omnicorse.com and gpweek.com

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While most of Italy is demanding that Ducati cut Valentino Rossi loose following his interview with Sportmediaset - which isn’t as simple as it seems - others are threatening to lynch him if he has the nerve to show up at the WDW at Misano in June, Rossi has announced that he’ll be taking part in the first round of the Blancpain Endurance Series at Monza this upcoming weekend.

The last time the Italian partecipated in a car endurance race was at the 6 Hours of Vallelunga in 2009 behind the wheel of a Kessel Racing team prepared Ferrari F430 Scuderia GT3 (picture above) where he finished third in the GT class and 11th overall, while this time he’ll be driving a Ferrari 458 Italia always prepared by Kessel in the Pro-Am Cup class.

Once again Rossi will be joined by his side kick Alessio ‘Uccio’ Salucci who will be his co-driver for the three hour race.

Source | ducatinewstoday.com

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Everyone knows how rumors start and how they get bigger and bigger until they are uncontainable and then they reach the ears of curious journalists enough to send them into a tizzy and then publish the rumor, especially when the rumors involves a high profile Italian sports personality like Valentino Rossi.

Rossi is just one of the several riders whose contracts are expiring this season and if the Italian doesn’t up his game, he’ll be leaving Ducati with his reputation as ‘The Doctor’ in tatters and as some very disgruntled fans are saying like a snowball in hell finding another factory team to ride for.

However Italian newspaper Il Resto del Carlino - Pesaro edition is following a recent rumor from the GP paddock in Qatar, and get this, there are negotiations - obviously still in the embryonic stage - that in 2013 there could be a new satellite team with Valentino Rossi returning to his beloved Yamaha M1 with the world’s No.1 soft drink maker Coca Cola as the main sponsor backing this mythical team.

We agree that the story sounds like something from the Twilight Zone, but we can imagine Dorna’s Carmelo Ezpeleta having an orgasm at the thought of Rossi staying another year in MotoGP and that Coca Cola could eventually sponsor one of the events and the eventual commercials …

Source | motoblog.it

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The Gazzetta dello Sport’s weekly magazine, unoriginally named SportWeek, that comes out tomorrow and has Valentino Rossi on the cover (he debated on Twitter if he should cut his mustache before being photographed - personally I think he looks like a bullfighter in this pic) where the former World champion talks for the first time about being a businessman besides being a motorcycle racer.

Here are just a few excerpts from the interview:

“I do not think I’ll be listing my company on the stock market, but if I had enough money I would buy Ducati,” said Rossi, referring to the sale of Ducati. He’s also talks about the number of business he’s created in his home town of Tavullia under the VR46 brand and the 70 to 80 people who work for him, from those at the Pizzeria da Rossi, his Store, the company that produces all his and several other riders merchandising and of course his new and beloved La Biscia Ranch.

“One day here I could also start a riding school and teach kids. I’m attached to Tavullia and I thought that if you’re rich, the quality of life must be the most important thing, because if you have to live worse to make more money, that’s a total rip off! My employees are all my friends. I was able to offer a job to all the people I care about so that they wouldn’t have do tedious jobs. We only do business that we enjoy. I wish I had a boss like me!”

On his second season with the Ducati, Rossi seems to be more confident: “We and they are working. It seems that this bike is better than the old one and it gives you a little more feeling and you can push a little more. With the other one every time we passed the limit, you ended up on the ground. “

Continue reading: Valentino Rossi: "If I could I'd buy Ducati"

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Lapo Elkann may not be buying Ducati, his was more of a patriotic outcry that the Italian company doesn’t end up in foreign hands, but he is certainly buying a customized Ducati Hypermotard.

The very eccentric heir to the Fiat empire (and possible future president of Ferrari) has ordered a special Hypermotard with a longer saddle and is said to be working on the paint job with Ducati’s design center.

Since Elkann is a super fan of military style liveries - he has a Ferrari 458 Italia, a Jeep Grand Cherokee and a Fiat 500 Abarth all customized with the military/camouflage theme - this Hypermotard is expected to match the same colour scheme.

Hopefully Elkann will be a better rider than driver, just check out where he parked his Ferrari - motorcycle and scooter parking spaces and last year he also parked his SUV on the tram rails in Milan disrupting traffic for over a half and hour.

Source | corrieredibologna.it

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Of all the riders who struggled to find the funding to ride this 2012 season, only Moto2 rider Sergio Gadea couldn’t come up with a cash rich sponsor and that is the reason that the Spaniard has announced that he is temporarily retiring from racing.

After his horrific accident during qualifiying at Motegi (he suffered spleen and kidney problems, internal bleeding, besides two double fractures in his lumbar vertebra). Gadea admits that he has yet to return to 100% fitness , but he is still continuing training and feels that he is as fast as before and isn’t afraid to race.

The 27-year old Gadea said, “Getting back in shape after an accident in which you risked your life isn’t easym so the decision to retire comes naturally, especially if you don’t have financial backing.”

The former Desguaces La Torre G22 rider received offers to ride in Moto1 and Moto2, but couldn’t come up with the €400,000 euros that the team’s were asking, “Last year I was already paying for my travel arrangements, but now I’m broke, because the situation is really bad,” adding that he wants to return to GP racing, but it has to be with a team that has a fighting chance for title.

In the meantime Gadea and Alfonso Morales have formed a team to teach youngsters racing and how to find sponsors while trying to find his own (check out the video above), “The little money I have I’m investing on this project, I’m not interesting in racing just to bring home the bread, I want to win the World Championship,” concluded the rider.

Source | motocuatro.com

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Just a few hours after the news ran wild in the internet that Dani Pedrosa had been allegedly involved in a cheating scam to obtain a boating license, the Spanish rider had the following statement released by his lawyer to do a little damage control:

“Following bad advice I made a mistake. Mistakes can be ignored or learn from them, and I’ve learned from it. I publicly apologize to my fans and all those who trust me. Now I’m looking forward. I’m a motorcycle rider, the world championship starts this weekend, and I want to focus solely and exclusively on Sunday’s race. I have learnt a lesson from this mistake and wish to leave the issue behind right now and focus on a season that I face with a high motivation and enthusiasm.”

The Repsol Honda rider will be on track on Thursday evening for the first free practice of the season at Losail, Qatar.

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You’ve got to be kidding me, this has to be some sort of late April’s fool joke by the Spanish press, even if April Fool’s Day for the Spanish is celebrated on December 28th and called el Día de los Santos Inocentes, because they are reporting that Dani Pedrosa was arrested and then released by the Guardia Civil for allegedly trying to cheat on his boating license test.

Reported by news agency “Europa Press” and “El Pais“, and supposedly confirmed by Paula Sánchez de León, a delegate of the Valencian Government, who stated that 21 people including Pedrosa, were indicted for having trying to cheat on the exam by using sophisticated electronic devices to obtain the right answers and the cost to get the answers was between 2000-2500 euros.

Obviously neither Pedrosa nor someone from his entourage was available for comment.

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Lapo Elkann, one of the heirs of the Agnelli fortune and manager of brand promotion at Fiat Automobiles (he was behind Fiat sponsoring Yamaha in MotoGP due to his friendship with Valentino Rossi) has expressed interest in buying Ducati to try to keep the marque 100% Italian.

“I consider myself a great patriot and I would hate if the Ducati was sold abroad and end up in wrong hands,” said Elkann in an interview with ‘Panorama Icon’. “The managers however are asking an unreasonable price. What would I do if they lowered their price a little? In that case, yes, I’d really think of putting in an offer.”

According to the latest rumors Volkswagen (Audi) has offered €750million for Ducati.

Source | eurosport.com

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