Ducati Blog

Below is an official press release from Ducati.

Cupertino, Calif. (16 July 2010) – Ducati Motor Holding announces today that Michael Lock, CEO of Ducati North America, is leaving the company at the end of July.

Michael joined Ducati in 2002 in the UK, and in early 2003 moved to the USA to head up the management team at Ducati North America’s headquarters in Cupertino, CA. Over the next seven years Lock’s team made many changes to Ducati’s organization, distribution, marketing and service operations.

Lock’s hard work culminated in Ducati achieving its highest ever US market share in 2009, increasing Canadian sales four-fold between 2003-2009, and taking over responsibility for the brand in Mexico earlier this year. As well as setting sales records, Lock transformed DNA’s communication strategies and delivered numerous highlights including the Monster Challenges, high profile retail promotions with brands such as Oakley and Puma, and the successful conquering of Pikes Peak with the Multistrada 1200 just this past June.

“I have experienced and participated in an amazing journey at Ducati. In a few short years we have been able to transform our brand into the most feared and admired European motorcycle by competitors and enthusiasts alike. It has been a privilege to be involved and I look forward to watching the brand soar to new heights over the coming years.” Said Lock from his office Cupertino, CA.

“Michael has been the driving force behind the great success Ducati has enjoyed in North America this past seven years. His ambition, passion and his unwavering determination has established our beloved brand as the object of desire for any motorcyclist. He has nurtured the brand, developed the dealer network and put together an outstanding team in the US, Canada and Mexico alike.” Said Cristiano Silei; Vice President Sales at Ducati Motor Holding in Bologna, Italy.

While Lock moves on to pursue other opportunities, Ducati North America is looking to finish a challenging year strongly. The much-admired Multistrada 1200 has been winning awards, while the recent arrival of the Monster 796 to dealer showrooms has spurred sales even further.

Cristiano Silei will assume the position of CEO of DNA for the interim while retaining his current position as Vice President of Sales at Ducati Motor Holding.

“North America is the most important international market for Ducati and the one I personally know the best. I am excited to be supporting DNA’s Senior Managers to set and implement policy for the new season. Our goals are to support our dealer network and keep improving our market share thanks to an ever expanding product line-up, innovative branding and sound commercial policies”.

From eurocarblog:

The Italian press is reporting that Mercedes is planning a partnership with Ducati in order to enter the motorcycle market. The plan follows the success of the BMW Motorrad division and particularly its success in the Superbike competition. Another German car manufacturer, Volkswagen, has also come to an agreement with Suzuki over its motorcycle division with a view to a possible renewal of the NSU brand.

Ducati recently participated in a co-marketing operation with Mercedes which involved the appearance of the Mercedes SLK roadster at the World Ducati Week event. Mercedes was also the main sponsor of the “WDW 2010″.

Currently the Mercedes-Ducati rumours are merely that, insistent though they are. The rumours have been neither confirmed nor denied by either company, but a collaboration, particularly in racing activities and not product necessarily, could sit well with both companies, although the Mercedes and Ducati images are quite different.

Ducati has previously been the object of the attention of Ferdinand Piech who had expressed a desire to integrate it into the Volkswagen Group. Any possible alliance between Ducati and Mercedes though, could well step on the toes of Ferrari who has numerous partnerships with Ducati, especially with regards to sponsors—Marlboro, Shell, Bridgestone and even brakes supplier Brembo.

In the 1200cc class of the annual Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, an almost-stock Ducati Multistrada 1200 took first  and third place finishes, with the first going to Pikes Peak veteran Greg Tracy. His teammate, Alexander Smith had an incredible battle to the end resulting in the third spot on the podium.

The Multistrada took a commanding lead from the start and never looked back. The challenging nature of the course with its several surface changes, hairpin turns and constantly changing weather conditions as you approach 14,110 feet simply reinforce the capabilities of the exceptional Ducati Multistrada.

Greg Tracy

“”That was an exciting week I’ve got to say. I want to thank Ducati for the opportunity they’ve given me. The Spider Grips Falkner-Livingston Multistrada was an amazing ride. Everyone did an awesome job and that motorcycle is crazy fast. It hit 137mph at one point up the hill and worked great both on the dirt and the asphalt. When I was growing up, and all these factory teams would win races, I was sure they had $100,000 engines and that was why they went so fast. I was wrong. This is my first year on a factory motorcycle and I’ll tell you that bike was box-stock standard. It had some carbon, and few tweaks and that was it.” “

Alexander Smith

“I have to repeat everything Greg said about the bike, it was really perfect,” said Smith. “The race was good, and if you see the start line footage you can tell how awesome the bike was working. It was a pretty smooth race up until the last corner where I kind of laid it down. I got off real quick and remounted which was still good enough for 3rd, putting both the Multistrada’s on the podium.”

For the fourth time this season, Nickey Hayden finished fourth. It looked like he would secure his first podium finish of the season as he went into the final lap in third place, but a small mistake from the American allowed compatriot Ben Spies through at Abbey Corner, missing out on the podium at Silverstone.

“It’s a pretty frustrating result because the team did a great job with the bike after the warm-up and it was a lot of fun to ride. Unfortunately I didn’t get a good start – we’ve been having some little clutch problems and didn’t get away well.”

“The race was really fun, everybody was going back and forth, I was able to make some moves in the corners but just didn’t really have the top speed in the straights. It’s hard for me to dress this result up because I’m not happy to finish fourth again but the good thing is we were in the hunt again. We did something good with the bike today so hopefully it will work at Assen, a circuit I love.”

In last Sunday’s MotoGP race at Silverstone, Casey Stoner lost ten places after a bad start which saw him drop to the back of the field as the riders went into the first corner. But a superb ride from there onwards saw the Australian rise to fifth by the end.

“I’m not happy with fifth place because we were capable of more today. I don’t know if we could have challenged Jorge for the win but we definitely found something in warm-up and made more improvements in the race, but we paid the price for a terrible start. As I let the clutch out the bike started jumping and hopping around and I had to pull the clutch in and go again, by which time everybody was past.”

“The tyres were fresh on before the warm-up lap so in the early laps I had to be really careful before being able to start overtaking and I lost a lot of seconds. The race then was fun, we were able to find a good rhythm and to make our way forward but the time lost at the beginning prevented us by fighting for the podium.”

Presenting the NCR Millona 16

Italian motorcycle designer and tuner NCR claims that it has tweaked the Desmosedici to put out over 200 horsepower at the rear wheel; they also shaved off a lot of excess weight.

They have replaced everything possible with carbon fiber—frame, rear subframe, swingarm, fuel tank, fairings, and wheels. Everything else that can’t be made composite is made of titanium, with a very minimal undertail exhaust.

It also includes a racing slipper clutch, lightened gearbox, ceramic matrix disc brakes using Brembo monobloc calibers, fully-adjustable Ohlins front and rear suspension and a fully custom ECU with traction control, data acquisition and telemetry systems.

Add it all up and you end up with just 319 pounds and 200 horses. Feel free to hit NCR with your inquiries.

According to reports from the Italian media, Australian Casey Stoner is planning to switch teams from Ducati to Honda following the 2010 MotoGP season that’s currently taking place. If true, that will punch a gaping hole in the Italian manufacturer’s rider lineup for 2011, leaving American Nicky Hayden alone in the race paddock (assuming he will be back with Ducati).

The Australian is reported to have been lured away by Ducati MotoGP’s former manager, Livio Suppo, following months of speculation as to whether Stoner would stop with Ducati.

It’s believed Stoner fell out of favour with Ducati bosses over last year’s ‘mystery illness’ which arguably cost the Italian team the 2009 MotoGP title.

It’s also alleged the 2007 MotoGP World Champion also became disillusioned with the team after Ducati attempted to poach Jorge Lorenzo from Fiat Yamaha, offering the Spaniard almost double Stoner’s reported salary.

Reports also say Ducati have put a two-year deal on the table for Valentino Rossi. The multiple World Champion has until June to decide on whether he wants the offer.

Nothing official, we know but the original source is a trusted one.

Mika Kallio and Aleix Espargaró will head to Japan with the intention of securing their first points of the 2010 World Championship, following crashes in round one at Losail.

Finnish rider Kallio survived two separate incidents of touching with other riders to keep his focus, before he lost the front end of his Ducati in only the third lap to bring his race to a premature end.

Mika Kallio

“My start was not too bad and I was able to overtake a couple of riders in the first corner. But then when I was in the second corner Spies broke a little bit late and he touched me and I went a little bit wide and lost many positions. Then when we went into the third corner Barberá broke quite late and he touched me, and I went into the gravel and was last when we finished the first lap.”

“I tried to push but then in the third lap I lost the front and crashed, and of course that was my mistake. I don’t know why that happened, because my feeling with the bike was not too bad.”

Espargaró made it to the seventh lap before he slid in the final turn, and the 20 year-old tried to get his bike back on track to continue. However, he was unable to carry on and also returned to the Pit Lane early.

Aleix Espargaro

“It was a great race at the beginning, the start was good and I was fighting with other riders and having fun,” he said. “But then I had a lot of problems with the front tyre and it was closing when I was braking hard, like in practice. We had made a change for the warm-up and it was a little bit better, but it still wasn’t okay, and in the race I tried to push as I approached Colin Edwards and then I crashed.”

Nicky Hayden missed on third in Qatar by only 0.011 seconds, but he is very happy to once again battle front-of-pack.

“After qualifying in ninth I’d have taken fourth place in the race and been quite happy with it, but to have the bike working so well in the race and to get beat like that, it hurts!” admitted Hayden. “It would have been so great to start the season with at least a podium.”

“Nevertheless, we made a couple of little changes for the race which really helped the bike and I was able to ride how I wanted and push hard. It felt good to be up front, it wasn’t easy but I was pushing hard and it was achievable. I enjoyed the race, but it would be nice to have been up on the podium. I still think it’s a decent result to have gained, we have some good points and there is a long season to go. I’ll have plenty more opportunities so I’ll just have to come back and find that next bit.”

“Our bike is good this year, I have no complaints. It sometimes takes me too long to get comfortable but this week we practiced and qualified in two days and it wasn’t until just before the race we made some small changes which gave me some better grip and just made the whole bike work better.”

“A big thanks to my team and everybody at Ducati as they have worked really hard to help me this winter, and we have made a lot of changes. It’s been a lot of work but I have enjoyed it and hopefully I can give them some results to repay them, and we can be up there every week.”

On Grand Prix of Japan in two weeks time

”Japan hasn’t been the greatest track for me over the last few years, so it’ll be hard but we’re going there to get our heads down and try to qualify well.”

A crash when leading in Qatar meant the Australian left the opening race of the season with no points, but he is already looking to the season ahead to get his title challenge back on course.

After dominating every session over the weekend at the Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar, a mistake when leading the race saw Casey Stoner lose the opportunity to wrap up a first win of the 2010 season.

“Once I got to the front I started to get into my rhythm but I lost the front end a couple of times in long corners so I made the decision to try to ride a bit smoother and not put so much pressure on the front tyre with the full tank. Unfortunately that is what led to the crash because looking at the telemetry I didn’t have enough load on the front, so I guess in hindsight I should have stuck to the way I’d been riding all weekend. It’s my mistake and I apologise to the team because we’d done a great job this weekend and we leave empty handed,”

It was a slip that has made for a testing start to the Ducati Marlboro rider’s season. Reigning World Champion, fellow title favourite and one of his main rivals Valentino Rossi went on to win the race, but Stoner is remaining philosophical about the situation.

“Having said that it’s not a complete disaster because we’ve found this weekend that the bike has improved in areas where we have struggled in the past – for example the rear grip was unbelievable – and we have a long, long way to go. I’m pleased for Nicky because he had a great race and I think we can both be confident and optimistic about the rest of the season with this bike.”