Ducati is to take advantage of the looser Open MotoGP testing regulations for the first time by sending factory riders Cal Crutchlow and Andrea Dovizioso to Jerez this week..
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Ductalk: What's Up In The World Of Ducati
Ducati News Roundup Curated by Vicki Smith for Ducati.net |
Scooped by Vicki Smith for Ducati.net |
Ducati is to take advantage of the looser Open MotoGP testing regulations for the first time by sending factory riders Cal Crutchlow and Andrea Dovizioso to Jerez this week..
Scooped by Vicki Smith for Ducati.net |
One of the main complaints aimed at the last-minute rule changes in MotoGP is that they made it impossible to explain to the casual viewer exactly who is riding what, and why. How many categories are there exactly in MotoGP? Who has more fuel and who doesn’t? And who loses what privileges if they win or podium? To clear up some of the confusion, here is our simple guide to the categories in MotoGP.
For the rest click HERE
If you are still confused, this is what you need to read.
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If racing defines Ducati than MotoGP is the very definition of the future of the brand and well, lets just say the last couple of years have been tough on the team and it’s fans. Now we are on the eve of a new season and if there ever was a year that could be called a fresh start, this is it.
As a long time industry analyst I would also describe myself as an “armchair quarterback” who like many fans of the brand, generally has some opinion on how best to steer the ship. I am especially happy to report that as far as I am concerned, this direction, the one where they line up great people and get them working as a team, is really exciting to see....
For the rest of this click HERE
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On the eve of the start of the 2014 World Championship, the Grand Prix Commission has given birth to some new rules for the MotoGP class with immediate effect and others with effect from 2016.
The most important news is that the GPC, taken note of the “surprising” passage of Ducati to the Open category, has decided to restore the Italian Constructor among the Factory entries, however according them the advantage to compete under the 'Open' specs as regards fuel limit, number of engines and tyres. This also means that Ducati, good Factory that it got to be again, will be allowed to race with its proprietary software.
Read more: http://www.gpone.com/en/2014031812976/What-a-joke-Ducati-is-Factory-again.html#ixzz2wL7iJxJ
When is Factory not Factory? I think this is as good an explanation as we are going to get....
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The Grand Prix Commission, composed of Messrs. Carmelo Ezpeleta (Dorna, Chairman), Ignacio Verneda (FIM Executive Director, Sport), Herve Poncharal (IRTA) and Takanao Tsubouchi (MSMA), in a meeting held on 18th March 2014 in Qatar, unanimously approved the following matters concerning the MotoGP class.
For the rest click HERE
My opinion - sandbagging has now been built into the formula since for most of these teams, 3rd place is the prize they are fighting for...
Scooped by Vicki Smith for Ducati.net |
If you wanted proof that things are changing at Ducati, you need look no further than the launch of their MotoGP team. In years past, it was an outrageously flamboyant affair, a veritable extravaganza hosted by Philip Morris to showcase their two motor sports projects, the Ducati MotoGP team and the Ferrari Formula One squad. Held at the upmarket Italian ski resort of Madonna di Campiglio, the event even had a proper showbiz name: Wrooom. All that was missing was an exclamation mark.
Ducati's 2014 launch was very different. Held not in Italy, but in Munich and Ingolstadt, on premises owned and operated by Ducati's current owners, Audi.
For the rest click HERE
Still waiting for the "Factory 2" announcement (expected tomorrow in whatever form it ended up in) but this is an excellent read for a Ducati fan to get up to speed for a rapidly approaching 2014 MotoGP season.
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Ducati Corse general manager Gigi Dall'Igna is 'not happy' that a last-minute Factory 2 class is being proposed for Ducati in MotoGP this season..
For the rest click HERE
The situation evolves. Now Factory 2 is proposed as a stand alone class. If they decide to do it, we will know tomorrow.
If they do decide to do it, ... (drumroll) WE ARE THE INAUGURAL FACTORY 2 CHAMPIONS!!!
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Scooped by Vicki Smith for Ducati.net |
“Factory 2” gives Ducati what it needs while preserving the compromises that keep the three factories in the series.
Big MotoGP news of the moment is Dorna’s creation of a new “Factory 2” category as a direct response to Ducati’s decision to switch from Factory (open software, 20 liters of fuel, five engines, engine design frozen) to Open (spec ECU and software, 24 liters of fuel, 12 engines, no design freeze, special soft rear tire).
Under the new rule, as soon as an Open team achieves one of the following:
1. A win in dry conditions
2. Two second-place finishes
3. Three third-place finishes
For the rest click HERE
The always brilliant Mr. Cameron thinks this is a good idea. OK. But how does the motor count work and when does it start? Retro back to Motor 1? What if you win a race and you are on your 10th motor? Do you have to start from pit lane now? And how they are going to keep teams from sandbagging? Is it a violation if they do? Fair to Ducati? That's not even the big question. Making it work is...
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Ducati found itself under the spotlight quite a lot lately, thanks to the improvements shown on track on one hand, because it became the latest target of the Honda’s rage on the other. The Japanese Constructor is making a common front against the Italian Factory, accused of having betrayed the spirit of the Open rules . As if the situation were not intricate enough, Dorna, out of the blue, came out with a disconcerting hypothesis: another (it would be the third option for the same class) set of rules, a Factory 2 new option. In case an Open bike becomes too much competitive and achieves multiple podiums or a victory, it would be considered a “Factory 2” bike and therefore deprived of one litre and half of fuel capacity and of three engines.
Paolo Ciabatti, Ducati MotoGP Project Director, defends the Italian Constructor’s choices. “ We never kept either our decision or our reasons secret – spiega – The actual regulations offer two options and we chose the least restrictive for us considering the work we need to do”.
You have been accused of going against the cutting-costs’ Open aim.
Factory 2 - How are they even going to implement it? Do motors before you got three 3rd place's count? It's like they came up with this plan over a three martini lunch...
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Why the door was left Open for Ducati - Mat Oxley explains how the factory Ducati team has been able to exploit the new Open rules to close the gap to its rivals...
For the rest click HERE
If you still aren't totally clear on what is going on here with the Open class this is a must read article
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Honda says it is "not happy" about the circumstances under which Ducati made its radical switch from being a factory to an Open class entrant in MotoGP.
HRC team principal Livio Suppo said that, while he was sympathetic to Ducati's priorities, its switch undermined what he believes is the fundamental basis for the Open class's creation.
He also voiced his disgruntlement over the release of new and more sophisticated spec software just days before Ducati confirmed its direction change.
Andrea Dovizioso, now riding an Open-class Ducati, finished just six thousandths of a second down on Honda's Dani Pedrosa after the second day of tyre testing at Phillip Island on Tuesday.
For the rest click HERE
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From Moto.it (in Italian)
In Sepang controversy erupts on the new Magneti Marelli, which would favor the Ducati.And Carmelo Ezpeleta rubs his hands ...
SEPANG - Controversy, resentment, accusations more or less direct: we are only at the winter testing, but the MotoGP 2014 is already pretty "hot." The last case (for the moment) relates to the control unit of the single "Open", the same for all also in the software.provide to the system - hardware including the "Factory" - is the Magneti Marelli, at a price of16,000 Euros per unit , dashboard, inertial platform and control panel.
For the rest of this story click HERE
The short of the story is that the latest (and really complex) version of the software for the open class is said to have been developed by Ducati and presented to Magneti Marelli for use as the Open spec software. If true: Magnanimous gesture = a very Italian solution to the ECU disadvantage
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With Ducati having elected to switch to racing as an Open entry in the MotoGP class, it is time for a quick refresher course on the rules. Below is a primer on the key differences between racing as an Open entry and racing as a Factory Option entry, and the advantages and disadvantages of each.
For the rest read HERE
Great explanation. Now if somebody could just explain EVO in WSBK this clearly...
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Wednesday to Friday will be a critical three days as MotoGP™ pre-season testing continues at Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit. This will mark the last time before the opening race that all Factory teams share a track with their rivals, although Marc Marquez will not be attending…
Open, Open, Open... Four days left to decide...
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MotoGP - Open season on the factory teams - Mat Oxley looks at why the Open class rules are good for MotoGP and governing body Dorna
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One of the significant topics of discussion during MotoGP™ testing last week was whether or not Ducati will be switching all of its premier class bikes to Open specification for the upcoming 2014 campaign.
For the rest click HERE
Still trying to decide if this is a vindication of the MotoGP future plan or a loophole...
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Will Dorna’s spec ECU and software, 12 engines, and 24 liters of fuel be a winning combination?
For the rest click HERE
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But they will run Hernandez on one in Pramac colours