An awful lot is riding on this new Ducati Desmosedici GP12. Will it be capable of making Valentino Rossi a World Champion again? Will Nicky Hayden be competitive? Will Ducati’s unseemly trashing in the world’s most-watched motorcycle race series come to an end? And all that is riding on one thing — the aluminum frame. Officially released this morning, here’s every scrap of material on the great red hope. :continue:
Top-level MotoGP racing machines almost never reach private hands. But, two of the most significant Ducatis ever, one of Casey Stoner’s GP10s and Valentino Rossi’s GP11 are going on auction in May. These are true race machines. Stoner took the above bike to victory at Phillip Island while Rossi placed 3rd on the other bike at Le Mans. :continue:
Suddenly, it looks like the Valentino Rossi the world is in awe of might be back. First, it was the clear comfort he displayed on the new aluminum beam-framed Ducati Desmosedici GP12, now he’s had the metal that was put in his leg after the 2010 Mugello crash removed. The former champ tweeted this picture, saying, “Hello guys, here’s the plate and screws that were inside my leg. I didn’t know they were green!” That broken leg ended Rossi’s championship hopes in 2010 and, some would argue, combined with the crappy GP11 to scupper them last year too. 2012 is going to be interesting.
You’ve probably seen this photo of Rossi sliding his Ducati GP12 during pre-season testing. And, if you’re an armchair expert, you’ve likely suggested that the photographer, the famed Gigi Soldano, manipulated it in Photoshop. You can tell because the pixels are all wrong and you’ve seen quite a few ‘Shops in your time. But, it’s real. And, to prove so, Gigi has just released the full sequence that was captured as Rossi passed his camera. :continue:
Leaked on Twitter and Facebook earlier today by a handful of close followers of the Ducati MotoGP circus, these are the first-ever photos of The Doctor’s GP12. Apparently snapped during pre-season testing at Sepang, what do they show us? Well, the aluminum beam frame appears identical to that of Karel Abraham’s bike. Yes, the Ducati Desmosedici GP12 will be ditching the controversial carbon monocoque.
Update: Now it looks like the Rossi-livery bike is the one being used by satellite teams, while the black one seen here is the actual GP12. The swingarm pivot plates are slightly different. Bunch of new images in the gallery.
Imagine a production bike — more powerful than any v-twin before — benefiting from the recognition of Italy’s most popular sportsbike brand and also the star power of MotoGP’s most famous rider, a rider that just happens to be Italian. Imagine also that that rider was winning races, maybe even a championship, on a machine with a clear point of unprecedented mechanical distinction shared by said production bike. Sounds like a perfect storm to create high sportsbike sales, right? That must have been what Ducati was thinking while it was developing the 1199. They’d give it a similar “frameless” chassis to their GP bike, then hire Valentino Rossi to put that GP bike on the podium. Race success + clear connection to race bike + impressive specs + famous dude = winning.
But, reality hasn’t cooperated. Rossi isn’t winning and he’s blaming that failure, at least partially, on that funny frame configuration. Now, Ducati is developing a — gasp — twin-spar aluminum beam chassis to see if it can fix the GP11’s handling problems. What does that mean for the “frameless” Ducati 1199?
“I like the GP12,” said Valentino Rossi after completing 50 laps aboard next year’s MotoGP Ducati at Jerez today. “In my opinion, it’s more enjoyable, more fun to ride. It was the first time we had it on the track, so we had some work to do, but the engine is nicer. It’s a lot of fun, and you can do some nice slides. It’s the bike we’ll ride next year, so it was very important—and also very nice—to be among the first to take it on the track.” :continue:
