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Photos: Cal Crutchlow’s First Day on the Ducati Desmosedici

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Cal Crutchlow’s wish finally came true today, as the British rider finally got to swing a leg over a factory MotoGP machine. Taking to the track for the first time on the Ducati, all eyes were on the live timing screens to see how Crutchlow would get on with the…ahem…difficult Desmosedici GP13.

Making 39 laps around the Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana, Crutchlow finished the day sixth-fastest, with a top lap time of 1’32.054 — just a tenth of a second off the pace of his new-again teammate Andrea Dovizioso. Not a bad start for the Brit, though he was still 0.797 seconds back from Jorge Lorenzo, who set the fastest time on Monday’s test day (1’31.257).

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Racing

Analysis: Ducati’s Non-MSMA Entry Machines for MotoGP – A Great Gamble with the New Regulations

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At Assen, Ducati MotoGP Project Director Paolo Ciabatti revealed that they too will be offering bikes for non-MSMA teams in 2014. While Honda is selling a simplified production racer version of the RC213V, and Yamaha is to lease M1 engines, the package Ducati is offering could turn out to be very interesting indeed.

Instead of producing a separate machine, Ducati will be offering the 2013 version of the Desmosedici to private teams, to be entered as non-MSMA entries, and using the spec-electronics hardware and software package provided by Magneti Marelli.

Although the current 2013 machine is still far from competitive – at Assen, the two factory Ducatis finished 33 seconds behind the winner Valentino Rossi, and behind the Aprilia ART machine – the special conditions allowed for non-MSMA entries make the Desmosedici a much more interesting proposition.

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News

MotoGP: A Ducati Desmosedici GP13 Production Racer?

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Speaking with MotoGP.com, Ducati’s MotoGP Project Director Paolo Ciabatti has revealed that the Italian factory is considering making a production racer version of the Ducati Desmosedici GP13 that will be made available to privateer MotoGP teams.

Conceived along the same vein as Honda’s RC213V-based production racer, the Ducati race bike would be available only to privateer teams in MotoGP, and would fall under MotoGP’s new rules, which make distinctions between factory and privateer bikes.

“Since the new rules came out for next year, where it is actually possible for a full MotoGP bike to run in what would have been the CRT class – using the single ECU and single software – we are considering to make available the 2013 bike with this package,” said  Ciabatti while talking to MotoGP.com

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Racing

MotoGP: Biaggi’s First Day of Ducati Testing

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Max Biaggi is back on a MotoGP machine, for the first time since he lost his ride at the end of the 2005 season. The reigning World Superbike champion took to the track at Mugello today to test Ben Spies’ Pramac Ducati, and get a feel for a MotoGP machine again.

Biaggi was invited to ride the bike by Ducati, mainly just as a friendly gesture towards an old rider, but in part also to give his input on riding the bike. With Spies still absent recovering from his shoulder injury, putting Biaggi on the bike was an interesting prospect. Because of Biaggi’s Italian connections, he rode Spies bike, but with bodywork from Iannone’s Energy.TI machine.

In a series of posts on his Twitter feed, Biaggi took some time getting up to speed on the machine. An enormous amount has changed since Biaggi last rode a V5 990cc Honda RC211V back in 2005, all of which take a lot of getting used to. The spec Bridgestone tires and the amount of electronic rider aids are two of the biggest changes, though the electronics on the factory Aprilia RSV4 WSBK machine are already highly sophisticated.

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MotoGP: Max Biaggi To Test Ben Spies’s Ducati at Mugello, Michele Pirro To Replace Spies at Barcelona

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Max Biaggi is to make a surprise return to riding a MotoGP machine. The former 250 and World Superbike champion will take a seat on Ben Spies’ Ignite Pramac Ducati as part of a one-day test at Mugello, as part of Ducati’s testing program, according to Italian site GPOne.

Spies was scheduled to stay on at Mugello to take part in a two-day test, but after the first day of practice at last weekend’s Italian Grand Prix, it was clear to both Spies and Ducati that his shoulder was still too weak to ride a MotoGP machine. With work continuing on the Desmosedici, it was important for Ducati to get as much data as possible on their bike, and so Biaggi was offered the chance to ride the machine.

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MotoGP: Michele Pirro Will Replace Ben Spies at Jerez – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 Development Bike to Debut

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With the news that Ben Spies will skip  the upcoming race in Jerez, and instead nurse his injured shoulder, Ducati has unsurprisingly tapped its GP test-rider Michele Pirro to help replace the American for the Spanish GP.

Taking one of his three planned wild card rides this year, Pirro will not only help maintin the ranks in the Ducati squads, but will also campaign the Ducati Desmosedici GP13 development bike during the race weekend for Ducati Corse.

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Bikes

Up-Close with the Ducati Desmosedici GP13

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It’s hard to get up-close with the Ducati Desmosedici GP13. For starters, she’s always traveling somewhere — a slave to her jet-setter lifestyle. And, when she finally touches down long enough for you to get a glimpse of her, she’s surrounded by men in red uniforms, who whisk her out of sight almost immediately.

Occasionally though, she gets all buttoned-up and makes a public appearance, and if you have the right credentials (not an easy feat in its own right), you can elbow your way in for a look at her scarlet glow.

Dodging other bikes, riders, and mechanics in the hot pit lane of the Grand Prix of the Americas, we had such a brief opportunity, and thus bring you our spoils from the moment. We have been up-close with a number of race bikes, exotics, and even exotic race bikes, but the Desmosedici GP13 stands out even in that prestigious crowd.

A rolling piece of unobtanium, with the very best of what is available in the two-wheeled world gring its chassis, and yet Ducati’s four MotoGP riders struggle mightily with the machine. Maybe if we look closely enough, we can figure out why. Twenty-two 2000px-wide photos are waiting for you after the jump.

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These Are Sort of the Ducati Desmosedici GP13 Tech Specs

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Very much a cloak and dagger affair, it is always fairly entertaining to read the information that the manufacturers release regarding their MotoGP machines. Despite the fact that these are some of the most drool-over motorcycles on the planet, by rule of thumb the factories publish only the most general technical specifications possible.

If a company like Ducati thought they could get away with it, the release for the Ducati Desmosedici GP13 technical specifications would read something like “a racing machine with possibly two wheels and an engine” when disclosed to the press and public.

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Racing

Ben Spies and His Pramac Ducati Livery

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Along with the unveiling of the Ducati Corse factory team, Ben Spies, Andrea Iannone, and the rest of the Pramac Ducati team were on hand at the 2013 Wrooom event to unveil their factory-supported hardware. Continuing the close relationship between Ducati Corse and Pramac Team Principal Paolo Campinoti, the Pramac Ducati squad will help Ducati develop the Desmosidici race bike during the 2013 MotoGP season.

Though the logos may be sparse, Pramac Ducati sees the addition of Ignite Asset Management to the team’s livery, a New York-based asset management firm. Moving from the factory Yamaha team to the Ducati “junior” squad, Spies will be joined by Moto2 star Iannone, who captivated fans last year with his aggressive riding style and back-end cornering procedures.

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Bikes

First Shots of the Ducati Desmosedici GP13

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Ahh, now here is the genuine article. Relatively unchanged from the bikes raced at the Valencian GP, the Ducati Desmosedici GP13 has finally broken cover at the 2013 Wrooom event. Shown here we see the Ducati Corse bikes of Nicky Hayden and Andrea Dovizioso, which will race alongside the similarly-spec’d machines of Ben Spies and Andrea Iannone in the Pramac Ducati “junior” team.

Unveiled just moments ago on the mountain’s summit, we’re still waiting for Ducati Corse to drop the hi-res version of these photos in our mailbox, so more details and snaps as we get them. In the meantime, notice how the shots after the jump aren’t nearly as creepy as the ones released by Yamaha earlier this morning.

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Are You the Ducati Desmosedici GP13?

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UPDATE: Nope, according to Italian TV’s Gudio Meda, it is a model built from leftover parts of the GP3 & GP7. For those picking out those design elements, good eye!

While the official launch of the Ducati Desmosedici GP13 is supposed to be tomorrow, the folks at GPinside have seemingly snagged this photo of the GP13 at the 2013 Wrooom event that Ducati co-hosts with Scuderia Ferrari. While the livery appears relative unchanged, there are several noticeable changes to the Desmosedici GP13, namely the skinnier tail section.

Our eyes also spot changes to the exhaust system, with a much shorter side-pipe, and what appears to be a larger undertail cannister. The fairings have also been refined from their previous shape, and give away a figure that’s longer than the GP12 (shown after the jump), with noticeably fewer side vents.

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