Ductalk

That MotoGP is too Iberocentric – too many Spanish races, and too many Spanish riders – is obvious to all who follow the sport, with the possible exception of a blinkered Spanish journalist or two. The series has to change, to move away from having four races a season in Spain, and to explore new markets in South America and Asia.

This is exactly what is to happen, according to an interview Dorna boss Carmelo Ezpeleta gave to the Reuters news agency on Friday. Reuters reporter Alan Baldwin spoke to Ezpeleta at the Barcelona circuit, where the Dorna CEO was attending the Formula 1 race.

The 2013 MotoGP World Championship is finally almost upon us...

Ducati's progress is being masked by the greater development rate of MotoGP's front teams according to general manager Bernhard Gobmeier

Ducati hopes its MotoGP program has hit rock bottom as it prepares for a long, steady climb back to competitiveness.

With the World Superbike season-opener now less than two weeks away, bad news looms for motorcycle race fans in the United States, as the SPEED Channel (now a part of FOX Sports), does not have a television contract to air WSBK and MotoGP for their 2013 seasons.

An issue that has been hanging in limbo since the start of the year, Superbike Planet yesterday suggested that American motorcycle racing fans could be without the World Superbike Championship on their televisions sets this year (we have heard similar murmurings regarding AMA Pro Racing as well).

Check out our video about the 2012 season's most spectacular saves and biggest wobbles from riders across all three MotoGP™ classes.

The MotoGP™ 2013 season becomes a videogame: Enjoy the experience of Milestone’s MotoGP™13 game next year, available for PlayStation®3, Xbox360®, Windows PC and PlayStation Vita®...

Milestone, one of the most recognized racing videogame developers and publishers for consoles and Windows PC, is proud to announce the development of the next release of one of the best-loved videogame franchises ever: MotoGP™13, which comes out in 2013.

Ducati's once-proud MotoGP program has seen its results plummet and reputation tarnished. But even with the loss of Valentino Rossi, all hope is not lost.

Here are five steps to returning the program to glory....

Click HERE

Nicky Hayden has complete faith that Ducati can turn its MotoGP fortunes around, even though he thinks an enormous step is needed to get back on terms with the leaders.

I know, that's a dumb headline right?  Of course it's a business, all sports are business. But MotoGP with it's colorful machines and traveling circus aspect has moments when it's possible to just enjoy the sporting aspect of the game itself.  This video, which is a recap of the final Jerez official test is a remarkably candid peek behind the curtain of getting ready for business as it will be offered in 2013.  Teams have been restructured and with that new personalities and demeanors must be determined. In some cases even re-invented.  Clown, crown prince, steely champion, these are all hats on a virtual shelf that must be selected and put on and this season more than most there are many new hats available.

For me there is much to see in this small piece of beautiful video but it all pales to about three seconds of footage at 1:49 seconds. At that moment, the future of the sport in 2013, becomes to me, crystal clear.

Can't wait to get racing and watch it all unfold.

 

As the 2013 MotoGP season warms-up for the opening race of the year, preparations for Ducati Grandstands move into full swing ready for fans to support full-factory Ducati Team riders, Andrea Dovizioso and Nicky Hayden and factory-supported Pramac Racing Team riders, Andrea Iannone and Ben Spies.

Although he knows that the bike needs a lot of work to be competitive, Ducati MotoGP boss Paolo Ciabatti doesn’t think that a total clean-sheet redesign is needed for the GP13 

The notion that a motorcycle racer would ask for less power goes against everything we know. ‘There is no substitute for cubic inches’ has long been the popular wisdom, but the recent history of Ducati Corse tells a different story. The company, to this point, has been concerned with only one thing, making massive amounts of horsepower, but that has proven to be problematic. Having a motorcycle with unlimited power is a good idea for chasing a land speed record, but not for going around corners, which the new management of Ducati has discovered as they try to work their way back into a competitive position with Yamaha and Honda.

Read more: http://www.sportrider.com/news/146_13020_ducati_motogp_boss_ciabatti_looking_to_tame_desmosedici/viewall.html#ixzz2LYBaScRv

MotoGP™ is all about going as fast as possible around any given track, but to see just what it takes for the riders to take their bikes to the edge, you some...

Check out the MotoGP™ Grid Girls as we head into the paddock to show you just how important they are to keeping spiritshigh on adrenaline fuelled race weekends.

CRT bikes may have failed to compete in MotoGP but bone stock production bikes have never been closer to GP performance.

Production bikes close the gap to MotoGP lap times? We’re living in a golden age...

A couple of weeks ago, Dorna gave us a rare opportunity to compare World Superbikes and MotoGP bikes on the same track on the same day, when it scheduled tests for both classes on overlapping days.

For a while, it seemed as if the Superbikes would have the last laugh, as Eugene Laverty threw down a 1:40.1 lap that was faster than any of the MotoGP riders could muster. Late in the test, the natural order was restored when Nicky Hayden went ever so slightly faster on his Ducati.

Or was it?....

For the rest of this story click HERE