Bayliss: Things are really taking shape.

Troy Bayliss may have had another luckless weekend at Brno - falling on oil late in the race after slipping back from fourth on the grid to twelfth - but the Australian is confident he can bounce back next weekend at Estoril, after improving his best lap time by a whole second in the post Czech GP tests. Crash.Net

Magazine Report - MCN August 25, 2004

Ducati 749R Racing Plus Kit
Page 8 - Ducati has released an upgrade kit for the already ultra-trick 749R. The Racing Plus Kit includes

1. Ported and polished cylinder heads
2. A complete 57mm titanium exhaust system
3. New camshafts
4. Titanium Termignoni silencer
5. Racing ECU
6. Reprofiled carbon fibre airscoops
7. Carbon-fibre exhaust heat shield
8. Racing air filters

The resulting performance boost is claimed to be 19hp for a total of 136hp. All of this can be yours for only £5500 ($9845) or about $518 per hp.

Ducati Memorabilia
Page 8 - Carl Fogarty's first World Superbike Championship trophy could be yours – for an estimated £2000. His dad George is auctioning a collection of memorabilia at the Classic and Motorcycle Show in Stafford on October 16. Does this seem weird? Would you auction off your kid's Little League trophies?

Ducati Multistrada Long Term Test
Page 28 - Phil West loves the Multistrada. Here's what he has to say. "It’s a wonderfully unique machine which I love to bits. Its quirky mix and match design delivers a rich cocktail of experiences which nothing else on two wheels can beat." This week's article focuses on the upgrades Phil has added to the bike. MX style hand guards, Ducati Performance red chain, Ducati Performance alloy filler cap, Termignoni exhaust. If you have question for Phil about his experience with the Mulitstrada here is his email address. phil.west@emap.com

Centopassi
Page 28 - The second annual 1500km Centopassi was a five-day road-based rally taking in tight mountain roads, magnificent views and sweeping open valley roads, integrated with a touring concept – in other words all the elements which make up the Multistrada’s DNA.

Silly Season
Page 45 - Carlos Checa has admitted that Ducati has expressed an interest in him riding in its factory team in 2005. Checa’s Yamaha deal expires at the end of 2004. He said: “I have had a good relationship with Ducati and I know there is some interest”. Whoa! This is not good. Checa is not the rider that Ducati needs to turn the Desmosedeici into a race winner. Prior to Rossi's arrival he was unable to make any headway with the Yamaha M1. Every teammate that has shared a garage with Checa has dominated him. Please, please, please Ducati there has to be someone else. Anyone else. My mother maybe?

Eye of the Beholder

Bryan Jones sent a very interesting post to the Ducati.net mail list today.

"There is some good Ducati coverage on a show called "Eye of the Beholder" which aired last night on the Travel Channel. Nice shots of bikes, factory, World Ducati Week, along with spot interviews with Terblanche. Good stuff. They are airing it again this Sat.@ 3:00pm. Travel Channel

Ducati catch up in Czech test.

The factory Ducati team were left with mixed feelings after completing the two-day Brno test; both Loris Capirossi and Troy Bayliss made considerable set-up progress, but it was all too late to influence the team's Czech Republic Grand Prix results. Crash.Net

Capirossi: I'd be a liar if I said I was happy.

After suffering in the two rain hit qualifying sessions for Sunday's Czech Republic Grand Prix, at Brno, Ducati Marlboro's Loris Capirossi again produced the goods on a dry race day - running just one place outside a podium finish until the final two laps when he slipped to fifth behind a charging Makoto Tamada. Crash.Net

15 injections for Hodgson, Xaus crashes.

Sunday's Czech Republic GP saw d'Antin MotoGP riders Neil Hodgson and Ruben Xaus experience contrasting fortunes: Hodgson managed to take eleventh place, making up for a 'complicated' weekend, but Xaus didn't finish due to a technical glitch. Crash.Net

Gibernau Czechs rivals with Brno victory.

Sete Gibernau has halted title rivals Valentino Rossi and Max Biaggi's recent MotoGP win domination by beating the two Italians in a tense race long battle at the Czech Republic Grand Prix - to claim his first victory since Le Mans in mid-May.Crash.Net

'I couldn't resist it' – Xaus falls for team.

Ruben Xaus is one of my favorite motorcycle racers. He's not graceful. He's not smooth. If winning were about force of will Ruben would already be a world champion.

Ruben Xaus was one of a number of fallers in today's final qualifying session for the Czech Grand Prix, but while most others complained of unpredictable grip loss, the Catalan's explanation was refreshingly different; he simply pushed too hard while trying to please his D'Antin Ducati team. Crash.Net

Laguna Seca Selling US MotoGP Tickets

The track hasn't passed an FIM homologation and the event is based on an agreement "in principle" but that hasn't stopped people from getting into the USGP spirit. Laguna Seca started selling tickets for the 2005 USGP yesterday. SuperBike Planet

Furious Hodgson confronts Biaggi.

It takes a fair bit to openly annoy Neil Hodgson, but in this morning's final practice session at Brno Max Biaggi managed to do just that when the two riders paths crossed a little too closely – sending Hodgson to the ground... and then in search of an explanation from the Roman. Crash.net.

Bayliss 'expected better' but in contention.

Ducati Marlboro rider Troy Bayliss qualified fourth quickest for the second grand prix in succession, after battling for a front-row start throughout today's final session for Sunday's Czech Republic Grand Prix. Crash.net

Gibernau beats weather for Brno pole.

The tempestuous Czech weather continued to torment the MotoGP field this afternoon at Brno, with rain returning just before the final qualifying session began – and playing into the hands of rain master Sete Gibernau. Crash.net

Final qualifying times - Brno.

Full MotoGP final qualifying times for the Czech Republic Grand Prix, at Brno, round ten of the 2004 world championship. Crash.net

Magazine Report - Ride September 2004

Ducati 999R
Page 14 - I spoke to several journalists the day of the launch event at Laguna Seca. Everyone of them raved about the new 999R. Smooth. Powerful. Based on Eric Bostrom's AMA Superbike the 2005 Ducati 999R is a significant update to the 2004 999R. The appearance of the bike has been cleaned up and simplified. The top fairing vents are gone. The fairing is slightly wider. The windscreen is taller. The rumor is that Pierre Terreblanche did not participate in the re-styling exercise.

Ducati + Aprilia merger news
Page 14 - By now this is an old and irrelevant story. The curse of print.

Magazine Report - MCN August 18, 2004

Ducati 999 engine upgrades
Page 8 - The 2005 999 will be getting an upgraded motor donated from this year's 136hp 999S. The 999S will receive a new 140hp motor derived from the new 999R.

Bimotoa DB5
Page 8-9 - Bimota is back from the grave. In addition to a new Tesi the Rimini firm has released plans to manufacture a new version of their famous DB range. The new DB5 will utilize the 992cc air-cooled Ducati v-twin currently used in the Ducati Multistrada. Bimota estimate the new DB5 will weigh in at a featherweight 160 kg (352 lbs)

MonsterMob considering switching from Ducati to Honda.
Page 46 - ‘I could run a two-man team on four cylinder bikes for the money I’ve spent this year’ PAUL BIRD, MONSTERMOB DUC

New colors for d'Antin Ducati

The d'Antin Ducati has replaced the blue/white/orange colors from the first half of the 2004 season with a much more attractive black/red livery. The colors were intended to attract a corporate sponsor, rumored to be Visa. "We had a different design up until now due to ongoing negotiations which we were finally unable to close for this season," said Luis. "So we just decided to return to the image of our team's colours, and I have to say it looks very good indeed."
Crash.net Link

Bayliss 2nd in provisional qualifying

Crash.net Link

2005 MotoGP provisional calendar

SuperBike Planet Link

MotoGP: First qualifying at Brno

Crash.net Link

Impressive Hardware

Pro Italia's Cafe Desmo saw a tremendous turnout of vintage bikes last night. It was an incredible display of hardware. Check out the photos.

MotoGP returns to Laguna Seca

Today's Monterey Herald features an article about the return of MotoGP to Laguna. The event will be officially named the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix and is tentatively scheduled for July 8-10, 2005. Link

Ducati 749S Review

MCNEWS.COM.AU Link

Bayliss 'can't wait' for Brno return.

Troy Bayliss produced the best ride of his rookie MotoGP season at Brno last August, leading Valentino Rossi and Sete Gibernau for more than half race distance before eventually finishing third, just 0.6secs from winner Rossi - and the former World Superbike is confident he can again be in the hunt for victory this weekend. Link

Gary Eagan's Record Breaking Ducati Multistrada

Ducati Revenues Down In Second Quarter

First half 2004 revenues were Euro 221.0 million, up 6.9% excluding forex effects, (or up 5.6% including forex effects) versus first half 2003. Revenues from motorcycles for the period increased 0.9% to Euro 175.4 million and represented 79.4% of revenues. Motorcycle-related products, including spare parts, technical accessories and apparel, increased 21.3% to Euro 42.3 million over the comparable period in the previous year. Link

d'Antin Ducati 2004

The d´Antin MotoGP riders are determined to getting amongst the top riders in this second part of the championship and tackle the Czech Republic Grand Prix with renewed enthusiasm, the first of seven remaining races this season. Link

2004 V-twin track test

Motorcycle USA has published the obligatory "which v-twin sportbike is better" annual test. This year's contest pits the Ducati 999S against the Aprilia Mille Factory and Honda RC51. Link

Lanzi faster at VIR test

Ducati World Supersport star Lorenzo Lanzi lapped faster than Ducati Austin's Eric Bostrom at a recent test at VIR. Link.

Xaus named as most frequent crasher.

Ruben Xaus has been named, and shamed, as the most frequent crasher in MotoGP with eleven in nine races. Link

Cafe Desmo

Shine up your bike and join us for a Pro Italia summer tradition, Cafe Desmo, our all Italian bike show. The collection of bikes will be wide and varied as all makes, manners and years are welcome; from rare timeless classics to wildly custom displays of style and from daily workhorses to the latest polished ride just purchased that afternoon. There will be classes for Classic and Modern bikes, entry is free and there will be lots of awards.

In addition we will be featuring special pricing on selected parts and apparel.

Mark your calendar now. Cafe Desmo will be held on Wednesday night, August 18th from 5:30pm - 8:30pm

Link