        Gigi Dall&rsquo;Igna is developing a taste for celebrating world titles, not exactly a hardship. The efforts made by Ducati and the Italian engineer have truly paid off in the best possible way in the last few days, with Alvaro Bautista rounding out an incredible season with a world title just a few days after Pecco Bagnaia did the same. &ldquo;This is an incredible season for Ducati&rdquo;, comments Dall&rsquo;Igna, &ldquo;or perhaps its best ever, given that we&rsquo;ve won in both Superbike and MotoGP. As for the latter, we weren&rsquo;t in a great position mid-season, while things developed in a different way in Superbike, but it was difficult nonetheless.&rdquo; &nbsp;Dall'Igna: "Alvaro started well and only got better" Dall&rsquo;Igna has only good things to say about the new Superbike world champion, who appeared a changed man with respect to 2019. &ldquo;Alvaro has done an incredible job. I immediately understood that he was a different rider to what we saw in 2019, in that as well as being fast he also showed to be well-rounded and intelligent. And that meant that I also quickly realised&nbsp;this could be a winning year &ndash; he started the season strong and only got better, and now we can celebrate.&rdquo; So it was easy to bury the hatchet of 2019 in the name of a shared goal &ndash; the world title. &ldquo;We are here to win the title and Alvaro was clearly the right choice, regardless of anything else.&rdquo; Traslated by Heather WatsonMoto MOTOGP VALENCIA TEST, BASTIANINI: "EMOTIONAL TO BE PART OF THE FACTORY TEAM&rdquo;       

A euphoric Gigi: "The Bautista who returned to Ducati has proved fast and smart; this is Ducati&rsquo;s best ever season&rdquo;

SBK Indonesia, Dall'Igna: "I immediately realised that this could be our year”

        Alvaro Bautista couldn&rsquo;t have asked for more at the Argentinian round, after winning both race 1 and race 2. The Spaniard, particularly in race 2, had no rivals, once again proving stronger than everyone aboard a Ducati that, in his hands, is quite clearly the strongest bike in the championship. He now has an 82-point advantage over Toprak Razgatlioglu, a tally that has him believing in a title that Borgo Panigale hasn&rsquo;t seen since 2011. As the Spaniard himself underlines, the second race was more complicated, and that&rsquo;s why he&rsquo;s so satisfied. Alvaro Bautista: "It was easy to make mistakes today" The Bautista-Ducati pairing seems stronger now than it has been all season, demonstrating a solidity and an efficiency that was once again hard to beat last weekend. At the end of the race, the Spaniard commented: &ldquo;Today we ran a great race, difficult because it was the last of the weekend, so there was all the effort of the weekend. The track was harder to interpret than yesterday, it was easier to make mistakes and then I didn&rsquo;t make a great start, losing positions. At a certain point, I understood the track conditions, realised what I could do and decided to push, making up places.&rdquo; The Spaniard then highlighted the key elements of his race: "Despite the complicated track conditions, I felt more consistent than yesterday, and that was down to the tyre choice. At first, I thought that Rea wanted to take the lead, I thought he was stronger than me to be honest, like this morning. In the Superpole race, I think Rea had better pace on paper, he could have won. This afternoon I felt I could beat him and I did it. I&rsquo;m pleased because I was more competitive compared to the rest of the weekend". The title is close but Bautista is keeping his feet on the ground The title is now well within reach, even if the Spaniard says he wasn&rsquo;t thinking about that during the race: &ldquo;Believe me, I wasn&rsquo;t thinking about points in this race, I was just focusing on giving it my all and not making any mistakes. It was hard to beat Toprak today, he&rsquo;s strong, as well as being better than me at this track. But in the end, I have to say I&rsquo;m more than happy. I never thought about the championship, I prefer to enjoy the present, turn after turn&rdquo;. Bautista goes on to specify: &ldquo;I want to have fun and get the best out of the Ducati and myself. I don&rsquo;t want to change this mentality, I want to focus race by race, it&rsquo;s better to enjoy the moment. I&rsquo;m really happy, the feeling I have with the Ducati is the best I&rsquo;ve ever had. I want to finish my career like this.&rdquo; Lastly, Bautista wants to get something off his chest, responding to those who put his achievements down to the power of the Ducati engine: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not interested in what people say, I&rsquo;m just thinking about doing my best. Those who follow me know my strengths. Also, if I win thanks to the bike and the engine, then why did Pedrosa not win several championships in MotoGP? So no, I don&rsquo;t worry about what people think.&rdquo; Traslated by Heather Watson       

The Spaniard dominated race 2 and moves ever closer to the title. And at the end of the race he was keen to get something else off his chest: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not interested in what people say, I&rsquo;m just trying to do my best. Those who follow me know my strengths&rdquo;.

SBK, Bautista: "I’m winning thanks to the engine? So why didn’t Pedrosa win in MotoGP?"

        In the slipstream of Rossi, Stoner and Agostini. Pecco Bagnaia comes to Sepang with a chance to follow in the footsteps of three great champions and put an all-Italian pairing back on top of the world fifty years after the last time (Ago and MV in 1972), bring the riders&rsquo; title back to Italy thirteen years after Valentino Rossi&rsquo;s last victory, and hand Ducati it&rsquo;s second MotoGP riders&rsquo; title. No mean feat, and one that Pecco is, quite rightly, trying not to think too much about. He can count on his experience in 2018 of course, when he won the Moto2 title at the same Sepang track. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not feeling the pressure right now&rdquo;, begins Pecco. &ldquo;I felt it more in 2018 actually, as I came here with a 38-point lead so I felt like I could really win, while this time I accept that it might go to Valencia. I&rsquo;m trying to take it as it comes and remain calm. I know that if we work well I can be up front, and then we&rsquo;ll see.&rdquo; Many riders have said you have a real opportunity here at Sepang. What do you think? &ldquo;I know I can be very strong, but remember that in 2019 it was Quartararo on pole and Vinales who won the race. We have two straights where we can make the difference and the bike has great potential, but tyre choice will be key depending on the conditions. I&rsquo;m trying not to think about the title&rdquo;. How&rsquo;s the comeback been for you? You&rsquo;ve come in for some criticism. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m quite used to criticism, as I get it even when I win. I&rsquo;ve felt good throughout anyway and my motivation has grown race by race, which I think helps me focus on the end goal. I&rsquo;m pleased to have got here, but now we need to bring it home, which is perhaps the hardest bit&rdquo;. Why do you think you get criticised? &ldquo;I honestly don&rsquo;t know, but I know I have nothing to prove. Constructive criticism is always welcome, while the rest it&rsquo;s best to ignore. The idea that I&rsquo;m up front because there are eight Ducatis makes no sense for example, as I&rsquo;ve won the races by myself, and I think the team and I have shown that our potential is really high.&rdquo;&nbsp; Bagnaia: "Portimao, Silverstone and Aragon the key moments of the season" What have been the most important moments so far? &ldquo;We made the biggest technical improvement at Portimao, which meant that from Jerez onwards we&rsquo;ve been in good shape and have only had to work on the details. From a motivational standpoint, the Silverstone win was important, as I wasn&rsquo;t the quickest. Then there&rsquo;s Aragon of course, where I made up many points to Fabio&rdquo;. Do you think Fabio has lost faith? &ldquo;He&rsquo;ll do all he can to catch up, and rightly so. We saw what he did in Australia, crashing and then trying to make up ground. That was a show of strength, as taking risks to catch up is worth more than lapping fifteenth without pushing&rdquo;. What kind of race do you think you can run? &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll try to win, that's what I&rsquo;ll be pushing for. It may rain on Saturday and Sunday but I&rsquo;m hoping for dry conditions, as I can be quicker but it&rsquo;s also harder to make mistakes.&rdquo; Traslated by Heather Watson Malaysia MotoGP, Aleix Espargar&oacute;: &ldquo;Stop Bagnaia? Almost impossible"       

"I was more stressed here in 2018, because I was closer to the goal. My motivation has grown race by race, now we need to bring it home&rdquo;

Malaysia MotoGP, Bagnaia: "I don’t feel pressure, I know it may go to Valencia”

        The race 2 win at Portimao, the twelfth of the season for Bautista, has reignited the debate surrounding the red duo as they continue to make strides towards a long-awaited rider&rsquo;s title, something Ducati has gone without for eleven years. Debate that is fuelled by the Spaniard's main rival, Toprak Razgatlioglu, second across the line, who believes the rpm of the VR4 should be reduced next year to balance the playing field. Arrival in SBK and penalty Ever since Bautista and V4R came to Superbike in 2019, people have had a lot to say about the duo as they attempt to usurp Rea from the production-derived throne: &ldquo;it&rsquo;s a MotoGP&rdquo;, &ldquo;the regulations are written to suit Ducati&rdquo;, &ldquo;Bautista has an advantage&rdquo; and so on. The complaints came after the very first round in 2019 and, as per the regulation, round four saw Bautista and the Ducati lining up with 250 less revs than their rivals. Despite this, they continued to amass race wins, a sign that even with slightly less engine speed, the bike was able to compensate. 2022: new year and new complaints After two years of &ldquo;let up&rdquo; with Redding aboard the V4R, Bautista&rsquo;s return to Ducati in place of the Englishman has seen many pulling out the same old mantras regarding the engine, the regulation and the Spaniard&rsquo;s weight. But there were no serious complaints until the Portimao round, when Bautista showed what the VR4 is really made of along the straight, the Kawasaki and Yamaha literally stripped already at the start of the straight as the red bike exploited the slipstream of its two rivals. The fact that the Spaniard is shorter and lighter than Rea and Razgatlioglu works in his favour, making for extra speed, added to which is an ability to exit the final corner fast. Furthermore, with the V4, the Ducati has different delivery compared to the other bikes (Kawasaki and Yamaha, the rivals this season) which, at some tracks, allows for slightly longer gear ratios without overly affecting acceleration. Another thing that works in the Spaniard&rsquo;s favour with respect to his team-mates/precedessors in Ducati (Davies and Redding) and rivals (Razgatlioglu and Rea) is his unique riding style. The Spaniard likes to let the bike roll and he brakes very early so as to carry a lot of speed into and through the turns. One man who is not happy with the situation is Razgatlioglu, who had this to say during the post-race interviews: &ldquo;Next year they should balance out performance, the Ducati is too fast. For the good of Superbike, they should reduce the bike&rsquo;s performance&rdquo;. The Turk is right to complain but "omits" that his R1 outperforms the Spaniard&rsquo;s V4R through the mixed sections, clear to see through the tight corners. Despite having won two of three races last weekend, Razgatlioglu's words will be passed on to FIM and Dorna - a request to reduce the revs of the V4R just enough so that Bautista has a little more difficult making a pass along the straight. The players might change but the complaint and the subject of the complaint, the Panigale V4R, remain the same. The fundamental question is: is it right to &ldquo;castrate&rdquo; what is the fastest bike right now so as to balance the championship? Wouldn&rsquo;t it be more correct to reset everyone to 2019 levels, with bikes and engine revs in line with the original homologation documents? Also considering that, prior to the arrival of the V4R, Rea&rsquo;s Kawasaki was castrated, before losing another 500 revs at the start of 2021 after the engine was passed as new when in fact it was not. Traslated by Heather Watson FILIPPO CONTI, GRT: "GARDNER? THERE WAS NO NEED TO CONVINCE HIM. SBK IS THRIVING"       

The efficiency of the Ducati compared to the Yamaha or Kawasaki was more obvious at Portimao than at other tracks, with Razgatlioglu requesting a reduction in revs for next year

SBK: Bautista and V4R in the eye of the storm, too fast?

        After the Thai race, Johann Zarco commented &ldquo;Ducati asked us not to steal points, if not for the win&rdquo; and this led to an inevitable rumpus furore around the French rider, and also Ducati, the masters of team orders as they do all they can to secure the title with Bagnaia. A riders&rsquo; title that Ducati has not seen since way back in 2007 with Casey Stoner. Realising that this achievement is well within reach (Bagnaia lies two points behind Quartararo with three races to go), Ducati is in a position to ask its riders not to hinder Bagnaia in the race, despite Pecco himself saying that he doesn't want team orders and prefers to try and score the title on his own merits. It&rsquo;s undeniable that the Ducati riders are more careful when close to Bagnaia in the race and the fact that Zarco didn&rsquo;t try to pass #63 shows this, just as Bezzecchi had an opportunity at Motegi, sensing Pecco&rsquo;s early difficulties. &nbsp;From &ldquo;map 8&rdquo; to Tardozzi and Dall&rsquo;Igna&rsquo;s &ldquo;trips&rdquo; to the various Ducati garages Whether you like or not, team orders have always existed in motorsport, more so in Formula 1, whether veiled or not over the team radios (the famous &ldquo;Fernando is faster than you&rdquo; to Felipe Massa in Germany in 2010, or the board shown to Ferrari drivers Villeneuve and Pironi at Imola 82, a prelude to the Zolder disaster, to mention just two), and to a lesser degree in the world championship and WorldSBK. As for MotoGP, and Ducati, how can we forget the famous &ldquo;map 8&rdquo; shown to Jorge Lorenzo at Valencia in 2017, instructing him to cede his position to Dovizioso who was fighting for the title with Marquez. A race that finished badly for Ducati when both riders crashed out within the space of a few laps, first Lorenzo and then Dovizioso. This year, as we&rsquo;ve said in the past, the question of team orders is catching on, with Ducati able to count on eight bikes on the grid, six of which are regularly in the top ten. In recent races, we&rsquo;ve often seen Davide Tardozzi and Gigi Dall&rsquo;Igna visiting the various pitwalls of the Ducati satellite team to &ldquo;issue&rdquo; the order not to hinder the title candidate. MOTOGP 2023: NOT SO MUCH A CALENDAR AS AN ENDURANCE TEST       

From Lorenzo&rsquo;s &ldquo;map 8&rdquo; at Valencia 2017 for Dovizioso to this season&rsquo;s recent cases as Bagnaia fights for the title against Quartararo

MotoGP: “Team orders”, the current bone of contention

        Leading the pack over every single lap in each of the weekend's races is not something many can say they&rsquo;ve done, but as of yesterday afternoon Alvaro Bautista is one of few who has actually achieved this feat. The Spaniard was simply perfect at Barcelona, dominating all three races and putting together a &lsquo;triple&rsquo; to remember. &ldquo;Three years ago I had many weekends like this&rdquo;, comments the Aruba Ducati rider, &ldquo;the Buriram weekend stands out on my mind, where I led in every session. This weekend is still special anyway, as doing the triple is no easy feat this year, and doing it at home makes it even more special. After Magny-Cours, I did a reset and it&rsquo;s all gone well. Let&rsquo;s say that I&rsquo;d put this weekend up there among the best of my career.&rdquo; Did the emotions get the better of you? &ldquo;Winning is always great, but doing it at home has a special flavour, also considering that the fans still couldn&rsquo;t attend this time last year. Tears? The tight schedule between one thing and another makes that hard (he laughs), but it was all very emotional, yes.&rdquo; &nbsp;Bautista: "I&rsquo;m proud to have scored the maximum possible" What was your secret on Sunday? &ldquo;We made a setup change before the Superpole Race, so as to exploit the tyres&rsquo; full potential, and it worked. In race 2 I stuck with my race 1 strategy, which was to make a strong start and stick with the group before managing my potential and building a lead. On paper, this was one of the best tracks for Ducati, and so to have scored the maximum possible points makes me very proud&rdquo;. Crashes aside, you haven&rsquo;t finished lower than fourth to date. What&rsquo;s your secret? &ldquo;A combination of factors. I&rsquo;ve changed my overall apporach to many things. Three years ago I had no experience and was fast without knowing why, and then when I started to crash I didn&rsquo;t have the answers either. Now I know how to reach the limit without exceeding it. From a mental standpoint, I try not to think about the title, and in this sense the difficulties of the last two years help me to do that. I prepare not to win, but to enjoy the bike as much as possible. Perhaps that&rsquo;s strange and has to do with my age, but I want to have fun (he laughs).&rdquo; Fellow Ducati man Bagnaia made a mistake at Motegi. What do you think? &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t see the whole race, but I tried. Perhaps if he were to go back, he&rsquo;d prefer to lose a point (he laughs). I think Ducati is strong in both championships, and can win both.&rdquo; Traslated by Heather Watson       

Alvaro explains: "The last two years were complicated and help me to not think about the title. An emotional weekend, but no tears&rdquo;

SBK, Bautista: "One of my best weekends, the last two years have made me stronger”

        The world championship returns to Japan, and Motegi. It&rsquo;s been three years since a MotoGP race was held there and many things having changed since then. There will be no Valentino Rossi for example, and the world champion is not Marc Marquez, but Fabio Quartararo. Will the Frenchman honour his manufacturer at their home track, or will he have to lower his head? Motegi a favourable track for Ducati? The Japanese managers care dearly about this weekend&rsquo;s round. Those who say that the Suzuka 8 Hours is the most important event on the calendar should come to Motegi and they might change their tune. We already know that the Iwata bosses will be asking Quartararo to go one step further. Or rather, to finish as far ahead as possible, preferably ahead of everyone. As if that were easy, as if there were no Ducatis taking part. The only strong M1 lies in the hands of #20, you know that better than we do. On the contrary, the Desmosedici is competitive with at least six riders. Let&rsquo;s take just two names, Pecco Bagnaia and Enea Bastianini, riders who dominated the Misano and Arag&oacute;n races. The Italian duo start the weekend as favourites, the GP22 and GP21 capable of cleaning up. But while they say that the red bike has the upper hand at the Twin Ring, it in fact only won once between 2012 and 2019. With Andrea Dovizioso in 2017. Honda and Suzuki, last chance, but look out for the RS-GP. And KTM? Honda and Suzuki are having a tough time of it in 2022. In Tokyo, it seems they&rsquo;re lacking ideas and performance, while in Hamamatsu they&rsquo;ve lost the desire to compete. What a disaster. Considering the importance of local pride, we are certain that both will attempt a comeback, but we can&rsquo;t promise anything. The track is actually owned by Honda, did you know? In fact, if Quartararo is under pressure from the Yamaha bosses, then consider Marc Marquez. It must be worse for him. The HRC and the RC 213V need to do well at Motegi, and that&rsquo;s that. The GSX-RR needs to bow out with honour, and that&rsquo;s that. Rider Alex Rins will do his best, wildcard Tsuda will stand in for Joan Mir. Not good. Also because Ducati and Aprilia will put up the usual fight. Pecco and Enea, Aleix. Espargar&oacute; is fighting for the title, but try to imagine an RS-GP on the podium, or even on the top step on Japanese soil&hellip; it would be like breaking the toughest bank. As for the KTM contingent, we truly cannot say. The truth is that Brad Binder was strong at Motorland, but the manufacturer hasn&rsquo;t seen a podium since Mandalika, when Miguel Oliveira battled in the wet. We&rsquo;ll see whether an eventual rain shower might give them another chance. Traslated by Heather Watson GP Arag&oacute;n, Bagnaia: &ldquo;I hope a lot of people have been silenced after this last weekend&rdquo;       

Will the Japanese bikes return to winning ways, or will they come under attack from the Desmosedicis? With Honda owning the track, Marquez will have greater responsibility. Aprilia the loose cannon, KTM an unknown, Suzuki out the door

MotoGP, Motegi "Yamaha" turf, but Ducati the favourites

        Once the season&rsquo;s done, he&rsquo;ll be off. This is the current situation for Remy Gardner, who&rsquo;s currently competing in MotoGP but is soon set to leave the championship. After just a year in the top class, the Australian is packing his bags and making plans for the future. So will he take a step backwards or forge ahead? Wayne&rsquo;s son has options in Moto2 and he&rsquo;s also knocking on doors in SBK. Ducati or Yamaha: Remy is sought by SBK  Consider the fact that SBK doesn&rsquo;t currently field an Australian. And they need one, particularly one of a good standing and level. Remy fits this profile, Moto2 champion in 2021 and son of a certain Wayne. Gardner is strong, he says what he thinks and is making a name for himself on track and in the paddock. And teams in the production-derived paddock have taken note, the rider having had contact with both Ducati, by way of the factory Aruba team, and Yamaha, in the shape of the independent GYTR GRT squad that currently fields American Garrett Gerloff. Whether red or blue, it would be good to see the 24-year old Sydney native on a production-derived bike. What might one of few Aussies to have landed in Europe recently choose? The feeling is that Ducati will keep Michael Ruben Rinaldi alongside Alvaro Bautista, while there are various candidates for GRT, from Axel Bassani to Dominique Aegerter. For now, the R1 M looks a more likely option for Remy. Translated by Heather Watson WorldSBK, 2023 is already here for Yamaha: the updated R1       

Having lost his MotoGP ride, Wayne&rsquo;s son may start over in the production-derived series: a team Aruba Panigale V4 R or a GRT R1 M for the Australian?

Gardner wants SBK: Ducati or Yamaha for Remy?

        The Misano weekend has not got off to the best start for Pecco Bagnaia. The Stewards Panel has come down hard on the Italian, accused of having hindered Alex Marquez at the end of FP1 by continuing on his trajectory but at low speed. A more complicated mission  Pecco has in fact been penalised three grid positions for Sunday&rsquo;s race. A decision that makes things a lot tougher for the Ducati rider, who will now need to complete a perfect qualifying session tomorrow. In any case, Bagnaia can count on the speed he and his Ducati have already shown today, which should make the penalty slightly less incapacitating. Translated by Heather Watson MotoGP, Marc Marquez surprises everyone: he&rsquo;ll be at Misano to test!       

The Italian has been penalised for his conduct in FP1 and now he&rsquo;ll need an impeccable qualifying session

San Marino MotoGP: grid penalty for Bagnaia

        There are eight Ducatis in MotoGP at present, with these making up a third of the bikes in the 2022 championship. Alongside the Borgo Panigale manufacturer are Aprilia, Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda and KTM. The Venetian brand fields two riders, as does Suzuki, while the others have four riders apiece. And anyone not riding a Desmosedici would be happy to do so. There are those who are open about this and others who deny it, while some hope to be on the bike soon. Because, whether you like it or not, the red bike is the red bike, a real Ferrari on two wheels. Love it or hate it, no one is indifferent. Ducati, the primadonna of MotoGP Ducati is the quintessential &lsquo;femme fatale&rsquo;. Beautiful, charming, high-profile and sought after. Envied. Challenging, yes, but worth the effort. Who knows how great it must be to go out with her, or even just share a photo together. Imagine completing an actual lap of the track with her, to better understand her character? Competing with her for an entire season? If only, but you have to give a lot in return for something so valable. Pecco and the (factory) Desmosedici: the perfect MotoGP couple The eight Desmosedici riders are Fabio Di Giannantonio, Enea Bastianini, Luca Marini, Marco Bezzecchi, Jorge Martin, Johann Zarco, Jack Miller and Pecco Bagnaia. And these eight compete for Gresini, VR46, Pramac and the factory Lenovo team. But only one has truly won over the most desired &lsquo;girl&rsquo; in the paddock. And that&rsquo;s the number 63 rider, the winner of last Sunday&rsquo;s race, and four more besides. And we feel there will be more victories, with GoFree and the Desmosedici making for the perfect MotoGP pairing. Aside from a few mistakes, when the Italian is focused, he&rsquo;s hard to beat. We might go as far as to say that Pecco is the strongest on the grid as, while he lacks something in terms of consistency, his sheer speed means he has nothing to envy to Fabio Quartararo. The Frenchman, on the other hand, envies the Italian&rsquo;s Ducati, whether he acknowledges this or not.&nbsp; Bastianini, the independent rider worthy of promotion So Bagnaia is the strongest, and perhaps has the best bike. But what of the other seven Desmosedicis? Jack Miller did well in Austria, achieving his fifth podium of the season. Joahnn Zarco and Jorge Martin defended themselves well, playing a starring role, albeit to a differing degree. A solid Luca Marini finished fourth, his best result to date, while Marco Bezzecchi and Fabio Di Giannantonio again scored points. Who else? Enea Bastianini, that&rsquo;s who. The Italian sustained &lsquo;damage&rsquo; at the Red Bull Ring, missing out on another victory after scoring his first pole position in the reigning class. Enea has won three races to date, victories that count for a lot when only Bagnaia has managed to do the same aboard a factory Desmosedici. Bestia&rsquo;s Gresini bike is independent, not even satellite but a step below. The number 23 GP21 has beaten the competition on three occasions, with the other ducatisti left as bystanders. If we think about it, the Italian deserves a promotion that reflects this. Traslated by Heather Watson MotoGP, Alonso a guest at the Red Bull Ring: &ldquo;A sprint race? A great idea&rdquo;        

The Desmosedici, the "femme fatale" of the reigning class, is courted and desired by many, but only Pecco has extracted her full potential. Bastianini has also been successful with her, but the Gresini bike is a GP21

Ducati, only Bagnaia has conquered the MotoGP “primadonna”

        It&rsquo;s all go in the Ducati camp. As rumoured in both the Silverstone paddock and at World Ducati Week, the engineers in Borgo Panigale haven&rsquo;t exactly taken the summer off, in fact they are already debuting significant new components at the first round of this second part of the season. Tail piece and fairing   In the team Pramac garage - and undoubtedly in the factory garage too - the bikes flaunt a new tail section, complete with small winglets, an innovative solution that is currently being tested by only Jorge Martin and Enea Bastianini. And then there&rsquo;s also a fairing, with Ducati unveiling a new version as it continues to venture into new areas of aerodynamics and works to further improve its package. This too has been entrusted to team Pramac. Translated by Heather Watson Dovizioso: &ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t adapted to the Yamaha, and it&rsquo;s hard to change now&rdquo;       

The Bolognese manufacturer works through the summer and has already unveiled two important new elements in the UK

MotoGP: new fairing and tail section for Ducati at Silverstone

        &ldquo;The future is already here&rdquo;, as the Ducati motto goes. The Italian manufacturer has officially presented its MotoE bike that will enliven the electric world cup as of 2023. There&rsquo;s a lot of interest in the latest creation to come out of Borgo Panigale and Michele Pirro, veteran Ducati test rider and current Italian CIV SBK champion, was keen to talk about the characteristics of this new red machine. Pirro&rsquo;s sensations  &ldquo;After just one lap with the MotoE, my sensations were similar to what I feel when riding a MotoGP or a SBK - comments the Italian - the engine is less powerful, but it is very similar to those used in the top class and on the Panigale&rdquo;. Pirro continues: &ldquo;Riding a bike that has no clutch makes it a bit different, but thanks to the combination of electric motor and ECU, the feeling when braking and entering the turns is similar to the MotoGP. I&rsquo;m sure that the Ducati engineers will be able to close the remaining gap with respect to the prototype bikes&rdquo;. Ducati at the cutting edge  Developing the MotoE represents another proud moment in Pirro&rsquo;s career: &ldquo;How did it feel working on this bike? Well, the development is similar to other bikes; I worked as I usually do in MotoGP and SBK. This project confirms that innovative Ducati spirit, committed as ever to the development of new technologies&rdquo;, concludes Michele. Translated by Heather Watson MotoE, Domenicali: "Surprising results achieved, I&rsquo;m proud of Ducati"       

The Italian test rider describes his sensations aboard the Borgo Panigale electric bike

MotoE, Pirro: "The feeling when braking and entering the corner is similar to the MotoGP"

Ducati continues to take giant strides into the future, and today brought yet another example. The official presentation of the first MotoE bike from Borgo Panigale is something that deserves a place in the history books, and Claudio Domenicali is well aware of this. In attendance at the event, he is also one of a lucky few, along with test riders Michele Pirro, Alex De Angelis and Chaz Davies, to have experienced the machine for himself.  &ldquo;A few weeks ago I had the extraordinary opportunity to ride the Ducati MotoE on the track and I immediately realized that I was living in a historic moment&rdquo;, details Domenicali, &ldquo;As soon as I sat on the bike, I appreciated the quality of the work done by the team and when I returned to the pits, I felt a huge sense of pride for what we&rsquo;ve once again been able to create. The results we&rsquo;ve achieved are surprising. If we look at the components, the motor is a lot smaller than a conventional one, while the tank is much bigger. It all revolves around how much energy the battery can unleash&rdquo;.  Domenicali: &ldquo;Electric bikes beneficial for emissions, but also hydrogen and ecological fuels&rdquo;   Ducati diving into the electric world is indeed something epic, but the move is also very much in line with planet earth&rsquo;s current needs.  &ldquo;The world is going through a complex period and environmental sustainability is an element that all individuals and all companies must consider a priority if we want to preserve the delicate balance of the planet. There is a lot of talk in Europe about how to eliminate or reduce CO2 emissions in many sectors, mobility included. Electric bikes definitely provide a path towards that goal, but then so do hydrogen and ecological fuels, which could fuel traditional engines. We&rsquo;re not yet living in a zero emissions world, but the foundations and the opportunities to improve are there, which motivates us to work&rdquo;.  Work that, in Borgo Panigale, goes hand in hand with the pursuit of maximum performance, a concept that is very much front and centre with this project too.  &ldquo;As Ducati, we have grasped this need and we went in search of a challenge that would allow us to contribute to the common goal of reducing CO? emissions and at the same time remain faithful to our racing DNA. We set out determined to develop the most performing electric racing bike that current technology makes possible. We believe that this project can really provide an idea as to how far we can take electric mobility with current technologies &ndash; we are developing something at the track that provides both us and everybody else with a lot of information&rdquo;.  And so there is a real desire to explore this new world, for a brand that is well aware of being more than just a motorcycle manufacturer, as Domenicali confirms.  &ldquo;Ducati produces motorcycles, but its primary mission is to provide people with emotions and experiences, with a combination of technology, beauty and style, the latter very much part of our Made in Italy essence. We want to combine this desire to entertain and thrill with the pursuit of maximum performance &ndash; from when we started to focus on the Superbike, in the late 80s, we&rsquo;ve always strived to obtain the very best on track, before obtaining the same for the public&rdquo;.  Translated by Heather Watson  Ducati MotoE: a new era officially begins in Modena 

The CEO in Borgo Panigale: &quot;I&rsquo;ve tested the bike and it&rsquo;s incredible. The goals? Reduced emissions and maximum performance&quot;

MotoE, Domenicali: &quot;Surprising results achieved, I&rsquo;m proud of Ducati&quot;

        Ducati continues its journey into the electric world. After unveiling it for the first-time last December, Ducati has now officially presented its latest creation, or rather its first electric bike. A prototype that marks that start of an historic new chapter for the Borgo Panigale manufacturer, as it takes up the electric challenge with a view to 2023. Next year, Ducati will in fact be the sole supplier for the MotoE championship, taking over from Enel and Energica. Characteristics of the red MotoE  The battery pack weighs 110 kg, for nominal power of 150 HP. It&rsquo;s interesting to note that, as with the front frame of the Panigale V4, the battery pack serves as a load-bearing chassis element, the actual aluminium frame weighing just 3.7 kg. Top speed? Roughly 275 km/h at Mugello. The technological package comprises the ride-by-wire system, Ducati traction Control, Engine Brake, Sliding Control and Wheelie Control. The tail piece is made entirely of carbon, with the bike weighing in at 225 kg in total. One of the most advanced technical solutions tested on the Ducati MotoE concerns the cooling system. The prototype components are in fact cooled by a particularly sophisticated and efficient liquid system with a double circuit designed to meet the different thermal needs of the battery pack and the motor/inverter unit . This guarantees extreme regularity of temperatures with important benefits in terms of consistency of performance but also in charging times. In fact, it is not necessary to wait for the battery pack to cool to start the process: the Ducati MotoE can be charged as soon as it enters the garage, and it takes about 45 minutes to recharge it up to 80% of its range. Translated by Heather Watson Yamaha again attacks the Stewards Panel, Jarvis: &ldquo;Inconsistent decisions&rdquo;        

The Borgo Panigale manufacturer has presented its first electric bike, which promises to be revolutionary

Ducati MotoE: a new era officially begins in Modena

        Eight Ducatis, so more than a few in MotoGP this year. No other manufacturer is fielding so many riders in the top class, the Borgo Panigale line-up appearing varied and complete, From the Lenovo factory team to satellite squad Pramac, by way of Mooney VR46 and Gresini, it&rsquo;s a fleet of which to be proud. And yet, something is missing. What? Enea Bastianini&rsquo;s put in some incredible performances, Pecco Bagnaia has scored some very strong results, Johann Zarco and Jorge Martin have secured impressive podiums, while Luca Marini, Marco Bezzecchi and Fabio Di Giannantonio continue to make solid progress, all of the men in red clearly pushing hard to lead the way. But&hellip; there is no red bike leading the way. Yamaha leads the championship, but why?  You&rsquo;ll probably be saying "because of Fabio Quartararo", we imagine And we agree &ndash; the Frenchman is the strongest MotoGP rider right now. He&rsquo;s the current champion after all, and having renewed his contract with Yamaha, he&rsquo;s now less concerned with issues outside the track. His talent has exploded and it may well develop further. So far, we&rsquo;ve said nothing new. One further detail is represented by the &ldquo;choice&rdquo;, whether conscious or not, voluntary or not, declared or not, to focus on one man. In El Diablo, Yamaha has its first rider. The others are well supported but in Iwata the focus is clearly on Quarta. A logical strategy owing to the results, or one planned out in advance? Does it matter? No. Fabio is the blue team&rsquo;s striker, his M1 wins races, and he is leading the championship. Just how much does Yamaha care that the likes of Franco Morbidelli, Andrea Dovizioso and Darryn Binder are further back?! Only so much. Are eight Ducatis too many?  Pecco Bagnaia won in Tuscany but was beaten by Takaaki Nakagami at Montmel&ograve;. A worthy winner on Italian soil and then blamelessly down in the gravel a few days later. A high and a low, physiologically speaking, and something to be avoided if we also consider the three crashes resulting from his own mistakes. The other man to have done great things aboard the Desmosedici (GP21) is Enea Bastianini. Three wins, as many as Quartararo. But contrary to the Monster Energy rider, the Gresini rider lacks consistency. And his points tally reflects this. Incredibly, between them, Bestia and Pecco have won five races. More than Fabio. To whom should we assign them, Bagnaia or Enea? This can&rsquo;t be done of course, and so to a debate as to the spread of results. Because it&rsquo;s great to see Johann Zarco and Jorge Martin on the podium, though not on the top step as yet. Contrary to the Yamaha method, competitive only with Quarta and struggling with the others. But who&rsquo;s right? A centreforward needs to be chosen ahead of 2023  Whether you like it or not, a centreforward should be chosen. Honda has one too, in the shape of Marc Marquez. At HRC they&rsquo;re well aware that the eight-time champ is the man on which to focus, as proved by the disastrous results scored by Alex (Marquez), Pol Espargar&ograve;, Takaaki Nakagami and Stefan Bradl. Though we must add that the only Honda podium this season dates back to Lusail, and was achieved by Pol. Then, nothing. In that case, the spread of results and focus is relative because with Marc out, the manufacturer has tried all manner of things, but in vain. The RC213 V was trusted to Japanese rider Taka, who&rsquo;s unable to fully exploit it. Contrary to Ducati, where almost all of its riders are able to exploit the Desmosedici, Great, but nevertheless a striker is needed for 2023, the guy who gets the job done. Who will it be? Pecco Bagnaia, theoretically, as he&rsquo;s strong and, in Tardozzi&rsquo;s words, a future champion. We agree, if he&rsquo;s able to avoid the mistakes he's made this year. But then, who will flank him? Are we sure that either Bastianini or Martin will accept the role (whether explicit or masked) of second rider? We&rsquo;re not so convinced... Translated by Heather Watson German GP, disaster for Honda at the Sachsenring: from riches to rags       

Bagnaia, Bastianini, Miller, Zarco, Martin, Marini, Bezzecchi and Di Giannantonio are all very strong, but wouldn&rsquo;t it be better to do like Yamaha, where Quartararo is the only real &lsquo;striker&rsquo; capable of leading the way?

Ducati effective in MotoGP, but a first rider is needed in order to win the title

        Jack Miller looks happy as he meets with the press, after a more than positive day on track at the Sachsenring. The Australian shone in both FP1, finishing first, and FP2, proving to one of the quickest riders in the group. The improvements to the Miller &ndash; Ducati package are clear then, and are highlighted by &ldquo;Thriller&rdquo; himself. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve always loved racing in Germany - comments Jack - and it&rsquo;s great that the Ducati now lets me right in the right way at this track. In the first sector, the bike turns well, and in general I&rsquo;m able to push as I want. We&rsquo;re starting to see the improvements made to the GP22, between here and Assen, or rather two different tracks to those we&rsquo;ve raced at until now&rdquo;. Miller: &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve regained confidence by going back to previous settings&rdquo;  Why do you think you&rsquo;re only seeing the improvements now? &ldquo;In the last races, I&rsquo;ve struggled to brake, which is usually my strong point. In general, this problem has often arisen when the track offered little grip. During the Barcelona test, the team and I were able to modify my riding position, going back to previous settings and that helped me to regain confidence, braking and turning the bike well.&rdquo; It&rsquo;s now confirmed that you&rsquo;ll leave Ducati. What advice would you give your successor on the factory team? &ldquo;I&rsquo;d advise him to stay longer than me and Danilo (Petrucci). I hope the next rider stays longer than two years.&rdquo; Translated by Heather Watson MotoGP, Ducati bids farewell to Miller: &ldquo;A honest, loyal and sincere person&rdquo;       

Jack 3rd at the end of day one: "I hope he stays longer than me and Petrucci. I&rsquo;ve changed my riding position, now I can brake as I want" &nbsp;

MotoGP, Miller: “I hope my successor stays at Ducati for more than 2 years”

        We&rsquo;ve already published a preview of the German Grand Prix, but there&rsquo;s more to be said, at least as far as Ducati is concerned. Because the red Borgo Panigale has only ever won one MotoGP race at the Sachsenring, and that was fourteen years ago. Powering the Desmosedici to the top step of the rostrum was Casey Stoner, on what was a wet Sunday.&nbsp; A race win but no title  Ah yes, it was the year that the Ducati flaunted the number 1 plate, a symbol of its success with Casey Stoner the previous year. A feat that deserved respect, because the Desmosedici and Stoner really were the best. The 2007 season brought Borgo Panigale its only title win to date, while it was a first for the Australian, who did it again in 2011 with Honda. But back to the task at hand. Out of fourteen spring (or is that summer?) races run in Germany, the red bike has won just one. There was a podium for Andrea Dovizioso in 2016, and nothing since. So it&rsquo;s clear that the Saxon track is a challenging one for the Italian four-cyclinder, but its riders nevertheless hope to invert previous results this coming weekend.&nbsp; Eight Desmosedicis at the Ring &ndash; will we see one on the top step?  Considering we have Pecco Bagnaia, Jack Miller, Jorge Martin, Johann Zarco, Enea Bastianini, Fabio Di Giannantonio, Luca Marini and Marco Bezzecchi, it should be possible to see at least one Ducati on the podium in Germany. But having said that, even Ducati management is quick to point out just how tricky the Sachsenring is for the Desmosedici. The salient characteristics of the Italian bike can be seen in its hard braking and incredible acceleration. But the German track offers only one point at which these traits will come into their own, maybe two, but no more. On the contrary, in order to set quick lap times, riders need a perfectly set up chassis and smooth delivery. There are many corners coming one after the other, particularly left-handers. How has Marc Marquez been able to win in every class and with every bike in Germany? Is it a matter of electronics, frames, tyres and suspension? Of course not. The number 93 rider was the strongest at that track and that&rsquo;s all there is to it. It&rsquo;s just a pity we won&rsquo;t see him there this year. Translated by Heather Watson MOTO2, DALLA PORTA: &ldquo;HERE&rsquo;S THE PROGRESS RE MY INJURED SHOULDER&rdquo;       

In 2008 Casey Stoner powered the red bike to victory, but it hasn&rsquo;t won again since. With eight Desmosedicis on the grid, can Germany be conquered once more or must Borgo Panigale continue to wait?

Only one MotoGP win at the Sachsenring for Ducati. Is the curse set to continue?

Alvaro Bautista has come to Misano with the riders&rsquo; title in mind, and things have gone well at least as far as Friday&rsquo;s concerned. The Spaniard finished on top, despite a less than stellar start to the day: &ldquo;This morning I struggled a bit - explains Alvaro &ndash; as the conditions weren&rsquo;t the best and I didn&rsquo;t immediately find the same good sensations I had during the test. We&rsquo;ve changed a few things since then, but ahead of FP2 we decided to recreate that test bike, and the improvement was clear to see&rdquo;.  What had you changed on the bike between the test and now?  &ldquo;During the Barcelona test (which followed the Misano test), we tried some different front fork stiffnesses which worked well at the time, and so we kept them for all the races we&rsquo;ve run since. But here we&rsquo;ve gone back to the stiffnesses we had at the Misano test, and things are immediately good again&rdquo;.  Have you tested the two new SCX specs?  &ldquo;Yes, and I didn&rsquo;t see any big differences with respect to the base SCX. There are advantages, like the stability profile, but the performance and grip are very similar.&rdquo;  Bautista: &ldquo;Being small doesn&rsquo;t bring the advantages everyone thinks&rdquo;   Rea has explained that he&rsquo;s not overly happy to have so many different tyres, as there&rsquo;s not enough time. Do you agree? &nbsp;  &ldquo;Yes I agree, as there&rsquo;s not enough time or a sufficient number of tyres to try a specification in the right way. In these conditions, you have to take a gamble, going with the one you think is best&rdquo;.  How is your pace?  &ldquo;In the afternoon, I completed a lot of laps in the low 1&rsquo;34s, but I didn&rsquo;t work specifically on pace, focusing more on tyre performance to understand which spec to use tomorrow. I&rsquo;m not worried anyway, as I feel good on the bike.&rdquo;  Rea has said it won&rsquo;t be easy to pass you and the other Ducatis here at Misano. What do you think?  &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t agree, as we all have very similar pace. Razgatlioglu and Rinaldi are very fast too, but perhaps Michael has a little less. I don&rsquo;t think Johnny will struggle any more than usual to pass&rdquo;.  Dall&rsquo;Igna has said that your secret aboard the Panigale is to ride like Pedrosa with the two-strokes. What do you think?  &ldquo;They&rsquo;re different worlds. With my physique, I have to focus on lifting the bike up early in order to hide the disadvantages&hellip; On corner exit for example, I struggle to turn the front in the right direction, as I have difficulty loading the front. Overall, it&rsquo;s easy to say that smaller riders are at an advantage but that&rsquo;s not the case. I have a lot of a disadvantages that bigger riders won&rsquo;t understand.&rdquo;  Translated by Heather Watson  WorldSBK, the return of the official videogame - the release date is set 

On top at the end of day 1: &quot;I tested the new tyres, but time is short and we&rsquo;ll need to gamble&rdquo;

WorldSBK Misano, Bautista: &ldquo;Going back to the test bike has been my salvation&rdquo;

        It could have been none other than Claudio Domenicali, the CEO of Ducati, to take centre stage during the presentation event for the 2022 edition of WDW, which promises to be a must for all ducatisti. Ducatisti who hope, among other things, to be able to celebrate one &ndash; or even two &ndash; world championships at the end of the year, despite the current MotoGP situation looking rather complicated. &ldquo;The classification doesn&rsquo;t reflect the efforts we&rsquo;ve made. Sure, we&rsquo;ve made some mistakes as a manufacturer &ndash; explains Domenicali &ndash; given that the GP22 wasn&rsquo;t ready at the start of the year, but the riders have too, for example Enea&rsquo;s two crashes, especially when there are riders like Quartararo and Espargar&ograve; who haven&rsquo;t made any mistakes yet. We&rsquo;ve also had a good dose of bad luck, look at blameless Bagnaia at Barcelona, but the fact remains that we failed to score points at a round where the potential was very high&rdquo;. Might it be a problem to hold off on choosing Bagnaia&rsquo;s team-mate? &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think so. Some say that contracts should be drawn up early to keep the riders calm, but the riders sometimes make mistakes anyway while, if you don&rsquo;t sign and they make mistakes, you&rsquo;re accused of having put pressure on them. We&rsquo;re talking about professional riders, who race without thinking about anything else. Both Enea and Jorge are riders who we want with us in future, they are part of our plans, and we&rsquo;re working towards this. I don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s the right time to make any definitive evaluations. Jorge underwent surgery this week, and the bike wasn&rsquo;t ready at the start of the year. In any case, both will have the same opportunities, as the bikes will be identical. Whichever of the two does not end up on the factory team will have all the technical organization they need.&rdquo; Domenicali: &ldquo;We want to choose the best for Petrucci&rdquo;  Will nationality or upcoming results have more of a bearing on the decision? &ldquo;We won&rsquo;t decide in the next two races, and nationality doesn&rsquo;t come into it. The results will count, so the sporting side&rdquo;. Let&rsquo;s talk about SBK. Bautista is back to the levels of 2019, but now has more experience. What do you think? &ldquo;Alvaro is running some convincing races, proving to be both determined and aware. The championship is long though, and both Razgatlioglu and Rea are tough nuts. I&rsquo;m very pleased that Bautista has immediately regained the right feeling aboard the V4R, confirming the bike&rsquo;s competitiveness&rdquo;. Does Superbike await Petrucci? &ldquo;Danilo is part of our team, and we were sorry to lose him for a brief time. We haven&rsquo;t defined our 2023 programme yet, but we&rsquo;re in contact with him and his manager, to understand what the best solution might be&rdquo;. Translated by Heather Watson MotoGP, Ducati bids farewell to Miller: &ldquo;A honest, loyal and sincere person&rdquo;       

The CEO explains: "It will take more than two rounds to choose between Martin and Bastianini"

MotoGP, Domenicali: “The GP22 wasn’t ready, but the riders have made mistakes too”

Come the end of this season, the end titles will play out in the Ducati garage, at least on Miller&#39;s side. The Bolognese manufacturer and Jack will part ways after five seasons together, three of which with the Pramac team and two as a factory rider. What does remain are the good memories they have created together, as well as the human connection, as highlighted by team management.  Gigi Dall&rsquo;Igna&rsquo;s words   The general manager of Ducati Corse Gigi Dall&rsquo;Igna admits: &ldquo;Together with Jack, we have spent five wonderful seasons, during which we have achieved truly significant goals for us, such as the two Constructors&#39; World Titles obtained in 2020 and 2021 and last year&#39;s Best Team Title. In addition, we should not forget the numerous podiums and the two stunning victories at Jerez and Le Mans. Miller is a very talented rider who has been able to understand our Desmosedici GP at its best. He is a fair and loyal person on whose full commitment we have always been able to count. I would therefore like to thank him on behalf of Ducati, the Ducati Lenovo Team, and all our partners for these five years spent together and wish him all the best for his near future!&quot;  Ciabatti and Bagnaia send their best wishes on social media   Sporting director Paolo Ciabatti had this to say on social media: &ldquo;Thanks Jack! Even though we&rsquo;ll go our separate ways at the end of the season, you&rsquo;ll always be one of my favourite riders. You&rsquo;re a fast and talented rider but, more importantly, you&rsquo;re an honest, loyal and sincere person. And a real friend. Let&rsquo;s have fun between now and the end of the season&rdquo;.  And Pecco posts: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a real honour for me to share the garage with you these four years. You&rsquo;re one of the coolest guys in the paddock, and one of the fastest, most talented riders. We still have many battles ahead of us on track my friend. Good luck for this new adventure, I&rsquo;m sure you&rsquo;ll get a lot of satisfaction!&quot;  Translated by Heather Watson  MotoGP, Julian Simon consoles Espargar&oacute;: &ldquo;Aleix? I&rsquo;d like to hug him&rdquo; 

Gigi Dall&#39;Igna, Paolo Ciabatti and Francesco Bagnaia have kind words for the departing Australian, a future KTM rider

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