1988 Ducati Paso on 2040-motos

Moto blog

Rainy BSB tests are nothing new

THE combination of bad weather in the UK and a European testing ban means that most BSB teams will now start the season with very little track time. This sounds like a disaster for the top teams but history has proved this isn’t necessarily true and it sometimes doesn’t matter how much pre season preparation has taken place.  Back in 2002 Sean Emmett won on the IFC Ducati at the opening Silverstone round after first riding it in unofficial practice the same weekend. Steve Hislop took the other win on Pauls Bird’s well sorted Ducati. More recently in 2009, Leon Camier took an untested new model R1 Yamaha to victory at the Brands Hatch opener after GSE took delivery of the bike just the week before. Sylvain Guintoli won the other race on a well developed, well tested Crescent Suzuki. You could argue if no one has had testing then it is a level playing field but you have to feel for riders moving up to the superbike class in the world’s toughest national series.  Tyco Suzuki’s PJ Jacobson is one such rider but having spent some time with him over the past few weeks he seems to be taking it all in his stride. It may be the confidence of youth or maybe the fact he has won in every other class he has entered in his short BSB career, but I suspect he fancies at least standing on the Superbike podium at Brands (He also does a bit of ice racing which is not dissimilar to the this year’s UK testing).  The testing ban was implemented with all the best cost cutting intentions and if it had been any other year in the past decade all would be well. The teams may be feeling frustrated but the fans should be excited. With so many unknowns, the 2013 BSB opener at Brands Hatch could be the best ever!

Ducati Desmosedici GP13 an Evolution, Not a Revolution

Bernhard Gobmeier sounded cautiously optimistic about Ducati‘s MotoGP program, speaking at the Wrooom 2013 event following the unveiling of the Desmsedici GP13 racebike. Taking over as general manager of Ducati Corse, Gobmeier acknowledged his team had a lot of ground to make up if it hopes to pose a serious threat to Honda and Yamaha. Ducati got an early start on developing its 2013 program halfway through the 2012 season when it became apparent the Desmosedici GP12 was not competitive enough against the RC213V and the M1.

Ex-Rutter Ducati 888 on eBay

WANT TO stand out from the crowd on a piece of 90s retro trackday cool?An ex-Michael Rutter 1992 Ducati 888 SPS is up for grabs in eBay, ridden by the man himself in the 1992 season.Imported by Hoss Elm (now there's a name I've not seen for a while) boss of former Ducati UK Importers Moto Cinelli, the bike's fitted with all of the factory Corse parts that were available at the time, including full Termignoni exhaust system, lightweight flywheel, titanium rods, Magnetti Marelli ECU with Eprom race chip.Other stuff:Brembo 320 mm brakes upgraded to machined from solid calipersOhlins supension rebuilt and set-up by Ohlins factory. Ohlins steering damper.Corse close ratio gearbox.Magnesium cases.Marvic mag wheelsMichelin intermediatesFull carbon kevlar bodywork, recently repaintedCarbon Corse tankCarbon Corse wishbone intake system and airbox.Carbon HandlebarsMagnesium yokesCarbon rear discSpares include, complete carbon bodywork set, sprockets, electric start, standard flywheel set, ally selector drum, track stands, plus loads more.It's road registered, too!The downside? It's £25,500, but the seller's open to offers.