This post started in the most natural of ways, that is to say a chat between a friend of mine and me over Ducati’s decision to pull out of the WSBK as an official factory team. My friend is Italian, a motorcycle nut and rides a BMW so that makes him both interested and disinterested in Ducati’s decision in the sense that it’s obviously disappointing for any WSBK fan to see a team pull-out, it’s particularly disappointing for Italians to see Ducati do it from a cultural heritage point of view; but for my friend it’s also not a disaster as his beloved BMW is still in the running and looks like it could have a positive 2011 (he also likes Australian riders so that helps, too).

Ducati’s WSBK pull-out has been almost universally accepted as a way to fund the purchase of Valentino Rossi in the MotoGP but I decided to suppose this not true for a moment and to take Ducati’s stated reason as the truth: they want to invest more in product development. In which case I was interested in my friend’s take on product development and whether the nitty gritty end of the business gets done in WSBK or in the prototype world of the MotoGP.

I had always supposed the real product development - that is to say bikes that become production models to be used on the road by the general Joes and Janes of the world - to occur in WSBK. The prototypes developed for MotoGP will always be able to lend something to their production counterparts but in the end, they’re mostly designed purely for racing. The WSBK is where the action’s at in terms of developing production models, as indicated by the Aprilia RSV4 Factory APRC Special Edition and the Ducati 1198SP seen at the 2010 Intermot.

Continue reading: Ducati and WSBK analysis: product development and Valentino Rossi

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Check out the pic from Duegommeslick to see what the Ducati crew answered when asked if Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards will be joining the Italian MotoGP and WSBK teams next year.

A couple of weeks back we reported that Colin Edwards was on Ducati Xerox’s shopping list for next season and while the rumors seemed just the usual silly season rumors , the Texas Tornado in an interview with Superbikeplanet.com confirmed that he’s fed up with the problems he has had this year that he wouldn’t mind heading back to the World Superbike scene to pick up a title or two:

“I tell you what’s really alluring to the World Superbike thing is I am just so pissed off, pretty much all the time now. I come to a race and I see all my friends. But the lure is basically to be happy. I would like to be happy again and fight for a victory. That’s what is enticing, let’s say, to look at that scenario and finish my career with a World Championship or two.”

Hopefully Ernesto Marinelli has picked up on Edwards latest interview, even if there are rumors that veteran Ducati rider Dario Marchetti, who recently broke his pelvis and coccyx at the International Superbike race at Rijeka in Croatia may be taking Marinelli’s place as the Ducati Xerox team manager.

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We’ve got another juicy little rumor to add to our previous WSBK Silly Season post. The latest gossip out of last weekend’s World Superbike Championship round at Brno is that Ducati Xerox will probably be handing Noriyuki Haga his walking papers at the end of this troubled season. NitroNori has simply fizzled out and even if at Brno we saw a more aggressive looking rider but binning the Ducati twice in the Superpole session, does not bode well for another year in team that will see another Italian manufacturer and direct competitor in superbike sales take the title this year.

So who will take Haga’s place? It seems that Ernest Marinelli is talking to the evergreen Colin Edwards. The Italian engineer who turned team manager after Davide Tardozzi defection to BMW has admitted that he’s put out feelers towards the two times Superbike champion and current MotoGP rider.

Carlos Checa is also high up on Ducati’s shopping list. The Spaniard has certainly out performed the factory riders on his privateer Althea Ducati and is fourth in the standings, in front of both Nori Haga and Michel Fabrizio. Ducati would also like to put an English rider on one of their official bikes to make their sponsor happy, but top riders Leon Haslam and Jonathan Rea are already tied to their current contracts for next year.

Continue reading: More WSBK Silly Season: Colin Edwards to Ducati Xerox?

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On Saturday at the WDW Troy Bayliss confirmed that that he wouldn’t come out of retirement because he realized that “when I tested here I found out that things weren’t going that good and we ended up going around in circles. That’s when it hit me and it was hard things like that that I didn’t miss about racing. That completely I changed my mind and I spoke too early.” but the Aussie pensioner concluded the Ducati private test yesterday, riding the development bike and finishing ahead of both Noriyuki Haga and Michel Fabrizio. Bayliss set a best unofficial time of 1′35.6, while Fabrizio lapped in 1′36.0 and Haga in 1′36.4.

All the WSBK Ducati teams were present, including private teams Althea Racing, DFX Corse and Supersonic.

Here’s what the three riders and the team manager had to say:

Continue reading: Troy Bayliss Faster than Fabrizio and Haga in Ducati Test

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Luca Ruggeri, Motoblog’s inhouse artist, as usual is a spot on with his comics and this time getting the brunt of his pen, is the Ducati Xerox factory team’s this year’s dismal and disappointing results with both Noriyuki Haga and Michel Fabrizio.

Here’s what Ernesto Marinelli Ducati Xerox Team Manager had to say after yesterday’s final day of testing at Misano:

“We’re going through a very difficult phase, perhaps the most difficult that I remember, but the important thing is to react and never give up, and in this respect the whole team is very strong. This test has been very important and the problems regarding lack of feeling (the hardest kind to fix), that both riders were citing at Assen, seem to have been resolved or at least greatly reduced. It’s a pity that Noriyuki was affected by the flu, but Michel’s solid test is certainly an important base from which to start at Monza, where we’ll give 200%.”

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The Superbike tests at Portimao organized by Infront Motor Sport were officially over on Sunday, but several WSBK teams headed straight to the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia for another two days of important testing, before the first round of the championship that kicks off on February 28th at Phillip Island.

Ducati Xerox with Noriyuki Haga and Michel Fabrizio, BMW with Ruben Xaus and Troy Corser and Aprilia’s Max Biaggi and newcomer Leon Camier with test rider Alex Hofmann, who from his Twitter page reports that it’s cold and blustery at Valencia, are the factory teams who are present. Also on track Althea Ducati with Carlos Checa and Shane Byrne.

Jakub Smrz is also in Valencia with the merged Borciani-Guandalini team, however the Czech rider will be using a Ducati instead of an Aprilia. Apparently negotiations with Noale to use the RSV4 have fallen through on economic issues.

Several Moto2 teams are also at Valencia including Herve Poncharal’s Tech3 team and Aspar Martinez with his Mapfre Aspar Team, who has finally decided on the RSV chassis.

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Ernesto Marinelli, who was Xerox Ducati’s technical director has been promoted and will take over Davide Tardozzi’s role as SBK project manager.

Marinelli’s promotion came after Tardozzi’s decision to step down from his position to seek new challenges because he lost movtivation.

Tardozzi helped Ducati take 16 World Superbike titles since joining as team manager in 1999 with such riders as Fogarty, Corser, Bayliss, Toseland and Hodgson.

“Davide has been part of Ducati’s recent history”, said Claudio Domenicali, General Director of Ducati, “a friend and, at the same time, an important presence that has allowed Ducati to achieve significant successes, particularly in the World Superbike Championship where, in recent years, he has project managed with passion, competence and professionalism. We are sorry to announce that Davide will not be part of the 2010 team but, at the same time, we wish him our very best wishes for the new challenges that await him, and thank him for the many years of service during which we have won and lost together.”

After the jump a great video with 25 years of Ducati Superbikes:

Continue reading: WSBK – Ernesto Marinelli new Ducati Xerox Team Manager

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Take a look at this video of Davide Tardozzi hugging Michel Fabrizio at the parc ferme after race 2 at Portimao and what the guys who posted the video compared it to. Hilarious.

After all the controversy surrounding the lack of team orders by Tardozzi, this video might just soothe certain Italian fans. Would Tardozzi have tried this with Carl Fogarty?

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Ducati Xerox team manager Davide Tardozzi has been getting a lot of flak from Italian Ducatisti fans (we’ve personally read them) since Sunday afternoon, when Noriyuki Haga lost the WSBK championship to Ben Spies by only six points.

Many were angrily citing the fact that Tardozzi refused to give Michel Fabrizio any team orders and that Fabrizio’s first place in Race 2 at Imola and in Race 2 at Portimao took away 10 valuable points from Haga’s title race.

Tardozzi has even had to defend himself on the official Desmoblog:

At this point I would also like to address some comments that we have heard since the final race….
Certainly, and we are well aware, that the decision to not stop Michel at Imola could have cost us dearly. But, after seeing how things went, I don’t think that this is the right moment to evaluate that situation.

In race 2 today Spies was clearly in control, knowing that he had the potential to fight for the podium but realising that a fifth position would be more than enough to win. One should also consider that Nori took second position during the final lap and Michel could not have known what was happening behind him.

Continue reading: WSBK - Davide Tardozzi has to defend himself

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Can’t be at Imola next week for 12th round of the WSBK Championship? The Ducati Xerox Team, in collaboration with Ducati Corse will be offering a rare opportunity for those fans from around the world the chance to see Noriyuki Haga and his team, direct from the Ducati garage at Imola in live streaming on Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th September

A web-cam, positioned Haga’s pit garage, will be activated between 14.00 and 17.00 on Saturday and between 09.00 and 17.00 on Sunday and to access the live stream you will need to log on to the official Ducati site www.ducati.com.

More information will be available on the Ducati website from Monday 21st September and if the project works, Ducati will be offering the same service for the final two rounds at Magny-Cours and Portimao.

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Most professional riders have a very tough and serious training regime that is varied and usually consists of running, road cycling, mountain biking, motocross riding, working out in the gym, but Noriyuki Haga candidly admits in this video that he doesn’t do any of these things.

The female journalist asks NitroNori about his training: “Another curiosity, your training regime? Do you workout in a gym during the week and do you also workout in your motorhome?” And a very cool Haga answers: ” No, only training is f##king!

It’s always funny how the first words that someone picks while learning a new language is the profanity.

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Arai has introduced a limited edition Haga Monza version of their new RX-7 GP helmet.

The helmet will be available in a limited run of 200 examples, with a unique paint job by Aldo Drudi. Haga used this specific helmet to celebrate his 250th WSBK race at Monza. The design features a large outline of the Monza circuit map on the very top, surrounded by its geographical coordinates. On both sides of the helmet, Nori’s ‘NKI41’ logo is depicted in both the Japanese and Italian flags while a caricature of ‘Nitro Nori’ wheelying a tractor completes the rear.

The Haga Monza edition lids will be on sale and expected to be delivered by September 2009 and buyers also get an extra, a T-shirt signed by Noriyuki Haga.

So if you’re a Samurai of Slide fan, why not check out an Arai dealer, because this is going to be a collectors item.

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