Ductalk

Fresh off of last weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix and Monday’s post-race test at Jerez, Ducati Team riders Andrea Dovizioso and Nicky Hayden were back on track Wednesday and Thursday, this time at Mugello.

MotoGP rookie Andrea Iannone brought his pre-season preparations to a promising end with sixth place, and top Ducati, in testing at Jerez on Monday.

MotoGP News. Ducati duo Nicky Hayden and Andrea Dovizioso take it relatively easy on the first day of pre-season testing at Jerez.

Austin's Circuit of the Americas has undergone its final FIM inspection prior to MotoGP's test debut at the Texan venue next week

Rain this morning in Sepang saw most of the track action taking place in the afternoon, with RepsolHonda rider Dani Pedrosa fastest of the day with a 2'00.562 lap.

With yesterday's fastest man Jorge Lorenzo concentrating on race simulations, no one was close to his pace of yesterday that saw him set a 2'00.282.

There were minor crashes from Nicky Hayden and Marc Marquez, who escaped unhurt despite three crashes.

More and lap times on the link HERE

Andrea Iannone was all smiles after Wednesday’s test session in Malaysia, finishing 11th for Energy T.I. Pramac Racing Team and moving ever-closer to the Ducati Team bikes of Nicky Hayden and Andrea Dovizioso.

Ducati carried out a three-day private test at Jerez from Friday to Sunday with Pramac's Andrea Iannone and factory test rider Michele Pirro.

Ignite Pramac Racing Team’s Ben Spies wanted everyone to know the reports of his retiring from the Sepang test were premature.

A report on an Italian website that was lifted by others suggested Spies might not finish his first three-day test on the Ducati Desmosedici GP13. Not the case, Spies said. His surgically repaired right shoulder was recovering at the expected pace, and sore from a day’s exertions at Sepang. But it was the possibility of tendinitis in his right forearm that had caused alarm. Spies left the track after completing his limited test program on Tuesday with his forearm in a compression stocking. The diagnosis of tendinitis was disputed by his physiotherapist, who put it down to hard braking.

Read more: http://www.sportrider.com/news/146_13020_spies_shoulder_wont_stop_finish_sepang_test/viewall.html#ixzz2K9ppl74N

While Yamaha plays coy and tires to hide their seamless transmission to be tested this week, and Honda move confidently forward knowing that they currently have the package to beat, Ducati seem to be the only ones giving an honest assessment of their current situation: stuck right where they were in November of 2012.  The GP13 is actually a GP12.1, in the sense that it's new, but only in construction.

Read more: http://www.gpone.com/index.php/en/201302049300/Ducati-moving-slow-if-not-backwards.html#ixzz2K2NCZMM6

The SBK Ducati Alstare team, which will participate in this year’s World Superbike Championship with riders Carlos Checa and Ayrton Badovini, readies itself to get started on the 2013 work programme that begins with a three-day test session this weekend at Jerez de la Frontera in Spain.

 

A Streetfighter 848 over a blue-blooded circuit scratcher like the Panigale on a classic Grand Prix circuit? You would think I must be joking but having ridden the Panigale superbike at the Yas Marina circuit earlier in the year during its global launch, I knew how good it was but life is all about experiencing new stuff and the 848 was a gap in the awareness I wanted to go and fill up...

For the rest click HERE

Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso admits he didn't expect to be as close to the benchmark pace at Jerez as pre-season testing concluded on Monday

The second day of action at Jerez got underway at 2.00 p.m. due to the track conditions following yesterday’s rainfall.

Ben managed to keep a constant pace aiming to collect useful data for the Championship.

Late in the afternoon a brief rain shower came down and all the MotoGP riders came back into the pits. 

More from Ben on today HERE

Ducati has confirmed financial and technical reasons were behind its decision not participate in the forthcoming MotoGP test at the new Circuit of the Americas...

"Quite honestly to be as close as we were to the other guys on the same bike - I was really surprised" - Ben Spies.

New Pramac Ducati MotoGP rider Ben Spies elected to miss the final day of testing at Sepang, in order to rest his healing shoulder.

The Texan was injured at the same circuit in last October's Malaysian Grand Prix and later underwent surgery. The 2011 Factory Yamaha race winner had been absent from the track until Tuesday's opening day of 2013 testing...

Game. Face. On.