After Sunday’s MotoGP race at Le Mans where Valentino Rossi finished 2nd, Ducati packed up everything and headed to Mugello for a three-day private test that will start today, with Ducati test rider Franco Battaini giving a shakedown to the new series of upgrades, including electronics and a new engine with a smoother delivery that Filippo Preziosi has prepared for the GP12 before the arrival of Rossi and Nicky Hayden tomorrow.

These new parts and the engine will debut, if Rossi and Hayden approve of them, not before the Laguna Seca round late July, as Ducati will carry out a further two test sessions in June and July.

At the Tuscany circuit with the Ducati test team is former World Superbike champion and Borgo Panigale’s part time test rider Troy Bayliss who posted this photo of two 1199 Panigales on his Facebook page stating “Two bikes to play with, TB21.” Bayliss will be testing the Superbike before Carlos Checa gets to ride it for the first time sometime next month.

Unfortunately the test will be behind closed doors - but who knows if Rossi and Hayden and Bayliss will switch bikes just for the fun it.

Update:
Aprilia’s WSBK test team is also at Mugello with Alex Hofmann, so we may get some inside news on how the Ducati is performing.

....

0 comments

Since it first appeared at the end of 2011, we all got mesmerized by the jaw-dropping beauty of the new Ducati 1199 Panigale, the new flagship model from the legendary Italian manufacturer. In order to emphasize its fascinating lines, USA’s biggest Ducati dealership MotoCorsa has come up with a set of pretty arty pictures featuring the beautiful Panigale with an equally gorgeous model, whose name remains unfortunately undisclosed. Excellent set of pics though, check them out.

View the full seDUCATIve 1199 Panigale photo gallery

via | MotoCorsa.com

....

1 comment

Our buddies from parent site motoblog.it warned us about this pretty interesting concept design created by Italian designer studio Sefsdesign that conceptualizes a cafe racer based on the recent, astonishing Ducati 1199 Panigale. Aptly called 1199 Panigale Racing Cafe Artwork, this interesting concept was apparently created on the wake of Audi’s Ducati buyout. “I was somewhat disappointed with that operation - said the maker of this graphic concept - so I decided to make an artwork picturing a cafe racer on a 1199 chassis.” Click on the image above to see it in high resolution. We love it.

....

0 comments

This is just one of the pieces left of South African Superbike racer Chris Leeson’s Ducati 1199 Panigale S following his crash at turn 1 at the Kyalami circuit.

Leeson luckily got off with just some bumps and bruises, while his Panigale will be needing a major makeover. You can check out the entire photographic crash sequence here.

Source | ducatinewstoday.com

....

0 comments

As everyone knows Ducati is not running the 1199 Panigale in World Superbike’s this year as they are using the World Superstock and several national championships in different countries to be used as a further development basis before its debut in WSBKs in 2013.

Superstock race Ivan Goi won on the Panigale last Sunday during the CIV’s Imola round, but before that Brice Nunnari won the first race of the European Bikes series at Le Mans, France and the EMS team gave the Ducati 1199 Panigale its maiden race victory when they won the first race of Castellano-Manchego championship, while Chris Leeson in the South African Superbike Championships at Zwartkops put it on pole, and Eddi La Marra put the bike on the podium for third place during FIM Superstock 1000 Cup race at Imola

Reigning World Superbike champion Carlos Checa has tested Ducati’s MotoGP machines a couple of times at Jerez, but has never done a lap on the new Superbike and now be getting a chance this June at Mugello, according to Ducati Corse’s Superbike boss Ernesto Marinelli in an interview with the official World Superbike website.

“Checa has not tested it yet. A strange coincidence but it was not planned. We hope to have him make a nice test around June. Every other test we have is very close to races, so it is not particularly nice to test too soon before a race. The Panigale is a different bike and the feel is different too, so we do not want to take Carlos’ concentration from the championship. That is his primary target. His test is scheduled for Mugello after the Misano round, in one of our regular development tests we do every month.”

Talking about the Panigale’s World Superstock debut at Imola earlier this month, Marinelli added, “I think it was a very strange race,” continued Marinelli. “La Marra did very well in the first part, and he was leading by 1.5 seconds before they put out the red flag. Our thoughts were that he was heading for his first win but they stopped it and he had already used all his four sets of tyres. He had to restart with the same tyres he finished the first leg on. They tell me Barrier and Baz each had one tyre that was barely used left (from their allocation), so they used them on the second part. With a five-lap race and no aggregate any more, it was one-shot race after that. Eddi had a few occasions where I think he could have passed Baz but of course he did not want to crash, he wanted to get points in the first race, so he felt it was too much of a risk and he got a third, which is OK. Overall I have to say I was happy.”

....

0 comments

You’ve seen the teaser videos, you’ve seen the official photo galleries, you’ve studied the specs and have probably read all the stunning reviews in motorcycle magazines after the press presentation at Yas Marina in Abu Dhabi, but now you have the special treat of seeing Ducati’s new queen of Superbikes, the 1199 Panigale in all her stunning nakedness - that is without her fairings - revealing the complex Superquadro 195hp powerplant inside the aluminium monococque frame.

....

0 comments

Three Ducati’s the Diavel, the Multistrada 1200 and the magnificent 1199 Panigale were voted the “Best Motorcycle of 2012” in three of the eight categories by over 39,000 readers of the prestigious German magazine, Motorrad.

Motorrad, is one of the highest selling magazines in Europe and in this 14th edition of their Motorcycle of the Year with Ducati coming out on top, making it the most successful manufacturer at the awards ceremony.

The brand new and revolutionary Ducati 1199 Panigale stealing the coveted prize for “Best Sport Motorcycle” with 41.2% of the vote, 20% more than runner-up, BMW for the S1000RR. Underlining its innovative entry to the highly competitive category, the new Ducati Diavel Cromo claimed the “Best Naked Motorcycle” award with 9.7% of the vote ahead of the Triumph Speed Triple, while the Ducati Multistrada 1200 S Touring won the “Best All-rounder” award with an impressive 23.9% of the vote, 10% ahead of the BMW K1300S.

Continue reading: Ducati, Ducati and Ducati - win 2012 Motorrad Magazine awards

....

0 comments

The FIM and Infront Motor Sports released a provisional homologation list for the Superstock 1000 Cup championship earlier last week and as many noticed that Ducati’s 1199 Panigale S wasn’t on it despite the fact that Superstock teams, Barni Racing, Effenbert Liberty and Red Devils Ducati Roma will be using the new Superbike in this season’s championship.

The mystery surrounding the reason of why the Panigale wasn’t listed was solved by the always well informed Italian website Gpone.com who found out that the FIM has yet to visit Ducati’s factory in Bologna and they’ll be doing that at the end of this month to check if the Italian manufacturer has fabricated the first 250 units of the 2000 required for homologation.

Ducati officially started production of the 1199 Panigale on January 24th of this year.

....

1 comment

Ducati’s 1199 Panigale officially debuted at the EICMA show in November and was an immediate hit, garnering attention worldwide. Today in Bologna, the first 1199 Panigale rolled off the assembly line which officially started the production of Ducati’s latest, most admired, most desirable innovative motorcycle to date.

The Panigale got the usual Ducati welcome from CEO Gabriele Del Torchio, Claudio Domenicali and plant director Silvano Fini with spumante toasts and the spraying “baptizing” ceremony.

The Panigale is expected to hit showrooms and dealers at the end of March or early April.

....

0 comments

Surely Ducati could not miss out on the 2012 Motor Bike Expo, but the Italian manufacturer did not bring any significant new model to the event, that is currently taking place in Verona. That’s pretty understandable though, as they’ve just introduced the brand new 1199 Panigale at the 2011 EICMA in Milan last November, and given the importance of the model we are quite sure that the crowd in Verona was pleased enough with the opportunity to admire Ducati’s latest output ‘in the metal’ right there, on the spot. Both ’standard’ and Tricolore versions of the 1199 Panigale are on display at the Motor Bike Expo, and they are by far the undisputed stars of the Ducati stand, overshadowing Valentino Rossi’s Desmosedici GP11 as well. We have no doubt that this model will follow in the footsteps of its illustrious predecessors and become a worldwide success.

In spite of the economical crisis, 2011 has been a fantastic year for Ducati, which registered a 21% increase of its global sales and a staggering +84% in the Asian market alone. Besides, the legendary Italian manufacturer has just received an official and prestigious recognition from the British Government, the ‘Brand Recognition Award‘, that is the proverbial ‘icing on the cake’ of an already outstanding year. Check out our pictures taken live at Ducati’s stall in Verona by our mates from Motoblog.it.

View the full Ducati live @ the 2012 Motor Bike Expo photo gallery

....

0 comments

Yesterday we posted the cute double interview of Troy Bayliss and Ernesto Marinelli briefly talking about Ducati’s 1199 Panigale, today you get a new and much more complete video regarding this ‘born to race machine’ with Marinelli giving you all the pertinent info with some action footage looped in from their testing sessions.

So if you’re already madly in love with the 1199 Panigale this eleven minute video is well worth your time. Enjoy.

....

0 comments

If I were to choose between launching the Ducati 1199 Panigale Hollywood style and this interview with Ducati’s “>Troy Bayliss and Ernesto Marinelli, I’d chose this interview anytime.

Marinelli is Ducati’s Superbike project director (he used to be chief engineer and technical director of the former Ducati Xerox Team) and Troy Bayliss is the unforgettable #21 and three time World Superbike champion - get together in this cute double interview - the way Italian TV show Le Iene do their interviews - to talk about the 1199 Panigale.

....

0 comments