| Author | Message | ||
     46champ |
Cause they would get their ass kicked by the 1190RR. | ||
| Hybridmomentspass |
this is a very random thread. | ||
| Panhead_dan |
I would seriously love it it was true. | ||
| Hybridmomentspass |
why would you love it if anyone dropped out of the AMA? It hurts the sport | ||
| Slaughter |
Huh? | ||
| Hybridmomentspass |
Slaughter - not sure if that was to me or not, but if it was to me: it is bad for the sport when manufacturers drop out for any reason, less money going into it/contigency = less racers. If it was to the original poster - well thats just some dude being dumb. | ||
| Rex |
I would guess they would still have Ducati Island at Laguna Seca..? | ||
| Panhead_dan |
If Erik Buell Racing was to sweep through another race season as a winner like last year it would be important. Wrong word. Epic. | ||
| Rocketsprink |
Once again, people here put the cart before the horse. Have you learned nothing from the XBRR? I remember that was going to kick everyones ass and it turned out to be, well, a failure. Ducati pulled out of WSB too and last I checked there was no Buell there. Maybe it could have something to do with the lack of $? Ducati as a factory run team been out of the AMA for a number of years now. I wish Erik Buell Racing nothing but success, but come on now. Give them some breathing room. | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
I don't understand Ducati's racing strategy. They actually have a bike that could win in WSK: the Desmodieci. Instead of running that, they decided to drop out of Superbike, where their street bike customers are, and spend a fortune that they can ill afford on Formula 1 which is becoming less relevant every year, as it becomes more and more like WSBK, only much less fun to watch and with half the riders. Obviously Casey Stoner doesn't think they have the resources to win, and I tend to agree with him. I would be surprised if even the Doctor can provide a miracle remedy this time. | ||
| Trojan |
They actually have a bike that could win in WSK: the Desmodieci. They don't build enough of these to meet homologation requirements. I doubt if it would be competitive either without serious tuning and modifications, all of which would be vastly expensive. One of the reasons Ducati won't run in AMA Superbike is that the rules don't suit them and haven't for a number of years. The 848 can run in DSB and even though Ducati don't really consider that model a 'race bike' (despite running worldwide 848 one make race series next year!) they will be running in at least one team in 2011. Celtic Racing have teamed up with Ferraci for 2011 and with rider PJ Jacobsen (one of my favourite young US racers) I think they will be a major championship contender in DSB next year  | ||
| Glitch |
I'm sure Ducati has plenty of reasons for not racing. Fear not being one of them. Ducati has too rich a racing history not to need to race. You can't think Italian Racing without thinking Ducati. You can bet that in addition to what Matt said, it more than likely boils down to money. | ||
| Blake |
Once Ducati racers get the problem of the inexplicable fogging face-shields solved, they're sure to be back. | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
They don't build enough of these to meet homologation requirements. I doubt if it would be competitive either without serious tuning and modifications, all of which would be vastly expensive. Actually, it is a bit more complicated than that. Ducati claim that their entire production run was 1500 Desmodieci's all of which were sold out by Dec. 2007. That would have qualified them for WSBK up until this year: "For 2008 and 2009, all manufacturers, regardless of total production numbers, had to produce a minimum of 1,000 bikes to acquire homologation. From 2010 onwards, the minimum production number was increased to 3000 bikes." - Wikipedia Perhaps if they had been running the bike in earlier years, a case could have been made for continuing to run them. Clearly they are faster than the twins, and they do seem have the possibility to compete with the Aprilia V4, given Ducati's vast super bike experience, when properly developed. In addition, they could pave the way for a street legal V4 which might help Ducati compete with the other 4 cylinder Superbikes from BMW, Aprilia and the Japanese with their 180 hp engines. As an owner of a 2005 Ducati 999s, with a measly 147 ponies at the crank, I know that I personally do not need any more power, but a little common sense never got in the way of a good old horsepower race, did it? | ||
| Davegess |
And perhaps they need to concentrate engineering assets on MotoGP in order to win there. Despite the huge racing success (both in terms of winning and in getting sponsors to pay the bills) they have had it is a very small company and resources are finite. Sponsorship dollars are tight in this economy and I am sure the general financial condition of the company is tight. Ducati has never been real good at making money so I can't imagine they are exactly flush in these tough times. | ||
| Svh |
The real reason:  No $$$ left for anything else supposedly. Besides MotoGP Ducati only seems to be supporting 848's racing in AMA Daytona Sport Bike. | ||
| Firstbuell |
yes, VR 46's signing likely will drain most of Corse's 2011 resources it appears that many folks here really don't understand what makes Ducati tick - it's r-a-c-i-n-g, end of story when you tour the Museo, the preponderance of motos displayed are racers, not street bikes there's always been an ebb-&-flow to Ducati's company fortunes - likewise, their racing...... | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
Well I guess after I defected to Ducati, it was only a matter of time before the good Doctor did the same. Only difference is, I bought mine, and my racing days were over before Rossi was born.  My guess is that it's going to take more than Rossi/Burgess/Ducati to beat Lorenzo/Yamaha, not to mention Honda with Pedrosa and Stoner, who has already tested faster than everyone else. And by the time the new 1000cc engines come in, Rossi will be getting ready to retire. By then, the differences between WSBK and MotoGP will be almost invisible, which makes my comments about the Desmodeici even more to the point. God, I hope I'm wrong. | ||
| Rex |
Money is probably the main key for dropping from WSB and AMA. But..... I agree. WSB and AMA racing is where the street guys who buy Ducatis want to watch their bikes race and win. Ducati is all about Racing, otherwise they would not be in MOTO GP... Could be that Rossi's fees do take up some of their other budgets....but it is hard times. Look what HOnda, Suzuki, HD, and others are doing to save money. | ||
| Slaughter |
Owens *Hybridmomentspass* - (late response)- my "HUH?" was for the original post. Sorry, didn't mean to imply YOUR post. | ||
| Rocketsprink |
Ducati Island is there for MotoGP, not the AMA. I'm sure they'll still be present at the big show | ||
| Blake |
Rossi brings SIGNIFICANT ad/sponsorship revenue to the factory who employs him, WAY more than Stoner ever did. | ||
| Trojan |
yes, VR 46's signing likely will drain most of Corse's 2011 resources Ducati are in the enviable position of being the only MotoGP team that is fully financed by outside sponsors (Philip Morris Tobacco mainly) so signing Rossi actually cost Ducati very little if anything. He also brings significant personal sponsorship from Monster and others as well as bringing in new sponsors for the team (AMG for instance). Ducati pulled their factory team out of WSB in a fit of pique over what they saw as rule bending by Aprilia but also because they could see that it is increasingly difficult to make the 1198 competitive at every circuit against the ever improving opposition. They needed to develop a new superbike before they will be truly competitive for a world championship rather than occasional wins again. The Ducati factory Superbike team was never really run from the factoy but by an outside team (most of whom are now at BMW Italia with Toseland and Badovini for 2011) so it was relatively painless for Ducati as a company to let the WSB team go without affecting the rest of their race operation for MotoGP, which is run in house. |
