Toseland admits he's off the pace.

Crash.net

This championship will be incredible, says Laconi.

Crash.net

WSBK First Qualifying

1. Troy Corser AUS Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra GSXR1000 2min 1.244 secs
2. Jose Luis Cardoso SPA DFXtreme Yamaha YZF R1 2min 1.388 secs
3. Regis Laconi FRA Ducati Xerox 999F05 2min 1.98 secs
4. Sebastien Gimbert FRA Yamaha Motor France-Ipone YZF R1 2min 2.217 secs
5. Max Neukirchner GER Klaffi Honda CBR 1000RR 2min 2.236 secs
6. Yukio Kagayama JPN Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra GSXR1000 2min 2.284 secs
7. Chris Vermeulen AUS Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR 1000RR 2min 2.469 secs
8. Pierfrancesco Chili ITA Klaffi Honda CBR 1000RR 2min 2.507 secs
9. Noriyuki Haga JPN Yamaha Motor Italia YZF R1 2min 2.687 secs
10. James Toseland GBR Ducati Xerox 999F05 2min 2.754 secs
11. Ivan Silva SPA La Glisse Yamaha YZF R1 2min 2.759 secs
12. Andrew Pitt AUS Yamaha Motor Italia YZF R1 2min 2.769 secs
13. Norick Abe JPN Yamaha Motor France-Ipone YZF R1 2min 2.868 secs
14. Chris Walker GBR PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse ZX10 2min 2.921 secs
15. Marco Borciani ITA DFXtreme Sterilgarda Yamaha YZF R1 2min 3.178 secs
16. Giovanni Bussei ITA Kawasaki Bertocchi ZX10 2min 3.268 secs
17. Lorenzo Lanzi ITA Ducati SC Caracchi 999RS 2min 3.314 secs
18. Karl Muggeridge AUS Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR 1000RR 2min 3.532 secs
19. Fonsi Nieto SPA Ducati SC Caracchi 999RS 2min 3.956 secs
20. Steve Martin AUS Foggy Petronas Racing FP1 2min 4.045 secs

'Black and blue' Toseland starts title defence.

Crash.net

World Superbike Preview

Superbike Planet

Suicide solution

By this time it's probably no longer news that Hunter S Thompson is dead. How he died seems less relevant than how he lived and what he wrote.

"When Cycle World called me to ask if I would road-test the new Harley Road King, I got uppity and said I'd rather have a Ducati superbike. It seemed like a chic decision at the time, and my friends on the superbike circuit got very excited. "Hot damn," they said, "We will take it to the track and blow the bastards away."

"Balls," I said. "Never mind the track. The track is for punks. We are Road People. We are Café Racers."

DLP posted links at hosenpants.com to HST's "Song of the Sausage Creature". Enjoy.

Slow and crashy

"I was going into the second of the three successive fast right-handers and the rear let go," explained Toseland. "I just looped over and landed on my side. I've never been up that high before." Crash.net - BBC Sport

Movin' on up

I may have to eat some crow. Carlos Checa has been surprisingly, consistently quick on the Ducati GP5. Checa finished Saturday's pre-season test at Phillip Island with the third fastest time. His teammate Loris Capirossi finished almost 0.4 seconds slower in fifth position.

When Checa was hired by Ducati to replace the beloved Troy Bayliss it appeared to be a move not to obtain the most competitive rider, but to appease Marlboro, Ducati's MotoGP title sponsor. Checa's pre-season performance has shown flashes of a renewed racer that will hopefully continue into the 2005 season. Crash.net

Toseland disappointed, Regis being cautious.

Crash.net reports on the final pre-season test in Qatar. Toseland expressed disappointment in his fourth place time. Laconi claimed he was being cautious which resulted in a ninth place time for him.

A consistent theme in 2005 WSBK pre-season testing has been Ducati's loss of dominance. The top of the timesheets are no longer 80% Ducati. Even the Ducati factory team seems to be struggling to stay competitive. Crash.net

Checha Fast!?

After a harmless fall yesterday, new Ducati Marlboro rider Carlos Checa set a cracking pace on the second day of testing at Phillip Island – the Spaniard lowering his Thursday best by 0.75secs to record the second fastest time of the day, being just 0.075secs slower than countryman Sete Gibernau. Crash.net

Ducati Tests Phillip Island MotoGP

Ducati engineers focussed mainly on suspension set-up today, and several different solutions that had already been tested previously were again used in preparation for tomorrow, when the work will specifically revolve around the development of the Bridgestone tires. Superbike Planet

This is what we like to see.

2003 World Superbike Champion Neil Hodgson was first on the track and the most prolific rider, turning more laps than anyone else and to good effect. When the day ended prematurely with a light shower around 4 p.m., Hodgson was on top with a lap nearing his best ever. Cycle News

Toseland Aspires to MotoGP

England's World Superbike champion James Toseland is eyeing a move to MotoGP next year, but only if he can land a competitive ride. BBC Sport

WSBK Traction Control

The widely spaced power pulses of the v-twin engine have provided Ducati a traction advantage despite frequently being down on power compared to the 4-cylinder competition. Now with 200bhp twins the much admired ability of the Ducati to effectively put that power through the rear tire may be diminishing.

World Superbikes are based on "production" motorcycles. Is this a harbinger of things to come from Ducati? Will there be a 2006 999R with electronic traction trickery? Crash.net

Capirossi 'worn out' by fever.

Ducati Marlboro's Loris Capirossi was one of a number of riders suffering from a fever on day one of the second Sepang test - the Italian, who set the pace at the same circuit last month, admitting it affected his strength and reactions today. Crash.net

Flickr

Ducati 250cc Diana with Jelly Mold Tank
Original photo by astrovine.

The picture above was created by a gentlement that calls himself Astrovine. I do not know him, but a new online photo sharing service called Flickr allows him to share his images with family, friends or the whole world. Flickr is a great place to find all kinds of cool photos. Check it out. My username is richardnixon. Flickr

Ducati tire test at Sepang

Crash.net

Ducati Tire Test Team

The aim of the Tyre Test Team, which will employ the services of Shinichi Itoh, is to specifically develop tyres for the Desmosedici and the new outfit will see Luca Gasbarro (Troy Bayliss' former race engineer) in the role of track technical director. Crash.net

Defensive words from GSE

Following Crash.net's report suggesting that the Ducati 999 racers in British and World Superbikes may not have a lot going for them this year, GSE Ducati's team manager Colin Wright has exclusively spoken out in defence of the V-Twin, adamant that the torque of the twin will still be an advantage over the fours – especially at the short British tracks. Crash.net

Ducati S4R review

OneWheelDrive.Net

Toseland faster, Laconi crashes on final day.

More rain. "Cold and wet weather conditions throughout the scheduled two-day test meant that very little dry-weather track time was completed, but James Toseland and R�gis Laconi both declared that they were satisfied with the set-up and the handling of the Ducati 999 F05 on the wet track." crash.net

KNBR San Francisco - Rider Radio

Ducati North America

Spanish World Superbike Tests

Superbike Planet

Slow

At the first comparable test that sees HM Plant Honda pitted against the factory backed GSE Ducati team at the Spanish Gaudix circuit, track-side reports suggest that the Italian manufacturer's 2004 WSBK championship winning machines are over a second off the pace. Crash.net

Ducati GSE Racing Prepares For 2005

Rubber Magazine

Centopassi article by Ian Kerr

StreetBiker

Monster Challenge

Although I was able to see the Monster Challenge at the IMS Long Beach show, I haven't been paying close attention to the other rounds. This week there has been a new flurry of Monster Challenge news activity regarding two interesting developments.

The Kneeslider had a very interesting post about the winner of the NYC round. "The New York Monster challenge is in the books and the winner took a little different route and actually used some building skills to get his Monster together. A bit of welding and metalwork was required to modify his 2004 Monster 1000. It’s nice to see a little more skill involved as opposed to bolting on accessories." This is an excellent point that was also part of judge Brian Catterson's commentary on the event. “I appreciate that Lock created something totally unique instead of just bolting on parts from a catalog. The bike also reminds me of an old Pantah I used to race.”

This week's MCN brought to my attention another Monster Challenge motorcycle from MotoCreations. According to MCN, "Ducati North America is looking at supplying the bike's creator with engines so he can build more machines with an official badge." Ducati.com

Ducati Xerox launched in Italy.

Crash.net

Snow is the new asphalt

Rossi: Ducati Engineers Have Made Some Improvements

Ok. So this article is pretty light on Ducati content, but Rossi comments about Ducati's progress. Rossi and Edwards ride snowmobiles which somehow relates to MotoGP. Roadracing World

New appointments and restructuring in Ducati Motor Holding

DMH Business news hosted by http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2005/Feb/050202g.htm

Ducati MotoGP Team Manager Livio Suppo

Who is this very serious looking man? Read Dean Adams & Susan Haas' interview of Livio Suppo, the team manager for the Marlboro Ducati MotoGP team. Superbike Planet