2013 Ducati Multistrada on 2040-motos

Moto blog

Mystic Mac's 2014 MotoGP predictions

There is no real off season in Moto GP.  Although we complain about being starved of racing, for those at the sharp end, in little more than two months they have new bikes to assemble, team staff to put in place and sponsors to nail down that will pay for it all.  This time frame is also tight for riders, as it seems more every year go straight under the surgeon’s knife after the last round and spend the short winter recuperating for the season ahead. The 2014 Moto GP championship looks like a cracker as apart from the ten full factory riders we now have at least eight non factory riders with properly competitive machinery.  We also have five Brits on the grid, two with podium potential.  Whatever happens though (providing you have BT Sport) you can just sit back and enjoy watching the incredible Marc Marquez do things that shouldn’t be possible. Speaking of whom, I didn’t believe a Rossi replacement would come this soon.  And when I say replacement, I mean a rider that is the full package.  Although in some ways quite different to Vale, he’s an equally phenomenal talent plus a very likeable character that appeals to the masses and although respectful to his rivals off track, deadly competitive in the heat of battle.  Being young and good looking he’s obviously a dream for sponsors and the sport in general.  Marquez has evolved in his own way but thankfully into a perfect replacement for our sport when the VR steps down.

Ducati 1199 Panigale Superquadro Engine to Power Volkswagen XL1 Sport

Ever since Audi acquired Ducati, we’ve been anticipating the first cross-brand technological developments between the Italian motorcycle maker and the German automaker. Sure, there have been some cross-promotional tie-ins, but we’ve been waiting with baited breath to see what Audi, and its parent company the Volkswagen Group, had planned with Ducati‘s small engine technology. Well we don’t have to wait for much longer, as VW Chief Executive Officer Ferdinand Piech revealed the first product of the “DucAudi” union in a speech at the University of Vienna: a new sports car concept called the Volkswagen XL Sport powered by the Superquadro engine from the Ducati 1199 Panigale.

Watch the Entire World Ducati Week 2012 Diavel Drag Race – Video

Last month, we wrote about the Diavel Drag Race at World Ducati Week 2012 starring Ducati’s current MotoGP and World Superbike racers and the one and only Troy Bayliss. If you missed it, the retired three-time WSBK Champion Bayliss defeated nine-time Grand Prix Champion Valentino Rossi in the drag race competition on Ducati Diavel Carbons. Our initial post featured a video of highlights from the drag race competition shot by Italian website Motociclismo.it but it was filmed by a single camera from an awkward vantage point.