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The Countdown to V-Day

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No it’s not Victory Day, nor Valentine’s Day, and not even the next showing of the Vagina Monologues, the countdown to V-Day in the motorcycle world is the day that Valentino Rossi announces his move to Ducati in MotoGP racing. Slated to occur at Brno during the Czech GP because of a gentlemen’s agreement, Valentino Rossi’s announcement will be the crack in the doors that opens the flood gates of other announcements. Like a line of domino’s strewn about the MotoGP paddock, Rossi’s plans for 2011 are the tipping stone that sets the rest of the paddock in motion…and we’re sure he’d have it no other way.

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News

Ducati Will Run Six Bikes in MotoGP Next Year

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Karel Abraham has just confirmed that he will be riding a Ducati Desmosedici GP11 in next year’s MotoGP Championship series. Who is Abraham you may be asking? Well he’s the son of Karel Abraham of course. Yeah…we didn’t think that would explain things very well either. Let’s put it this way, Abraham Sr. is the owner of the GP track at Brno, and Abraham Jr. is his son that has never won a race, let alone a podium, at any GP level race.

Swelling Ducati’s numbers on the MotoGP grid, Karel Abraham (Jr.) will be the sixth Ducati on the grid, which includes the two factory Ducatis of Marlboro Ducati, the two semi-factory Ducatis of Pramac Ducati, and the satellite Ducati of Team Aspar. That’s a lot of Desmos.

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Bikes

Video: Ducati Superbike 848 EVO

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Soon the 2011 Ducati Superbike 848 EVO will be released before a live audience at Laguna Seca, so we thought we’d help wet your v-twin appetites with a little promo video the Italian company put together. The Evo seeming makes right-hand turns as well as it makes left-hand turns, all the while producing a distinctive Ducati note from its exhaust pipes…that should be enough to sooth the masses at Ducati Island, but we wouldn’t mind trying a Bologna Bullet Evo out for ourselves…come on JPC, we know you’re reading this. Video after the jump.

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Rumors

A Better Look at the Ducati Mega Monster

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Italian news site MotoSprint has stumbled upon perhaps the best photo yet of the new Ducati power cruiser, which has been dubbed the “Mega Monster”. From the side we can get a better glimpse on the bike’s overall lines and stature, which at leasts makes us more comfortable with how the bike’s final aesthetic will come to be. Love it or hate it? Let us know in the comments.

Source: MotoSprint via Ducati News Today

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Bikes

2011 Ducati 848 EVO Superbike – 140HP Supersport with a ‘Dark’ Twin Brother

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After teasing us that a new model would debut at Ducati Island during MotoGP’s stop at Laguna Seca, Ducati has unwrapped ahead of schedule the 2011 Ducati 848 EVO Superbike. Built off the Ducati 848 Superbike, the 848 EVO features a re-worked motor that bumps the middleweight’s power output to 140HP, and also features a “Dark” model for the sinisterly understated riders out there.

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Racing

Ducati & Yamaha’s Gentlemen’s Agreement: Rossi to Test GP10 at Valencia – Announcement Delayed

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After breaking the news that Valentino Rossi signed a two-year contract with Ducati Corse, or as we like to refer to it: the worst kept secret in the MotoGP garage, we waited to see the official news of Rossi’s departure materialize after the weekend break, but to no avail. Knowing that our information was correct, we now understand why the announcement didn’t materialize when we expected it: because of a gentleman’s agreement between Ducati & Yamaha.

In exchange for delaying the announcement until after the American round at Laguna Seca (now slated for the Monday after racing at Brno), Yamaha is allowing Rossi to test the Ducati Desmosedici GP10 when MotoGP stops at Valencia at the end of the 2010 season.

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MotoGP

Ducati Desmosedici Gets Wings for Sachsenring

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MotoGP fans in attendance during qualifying at the German GP may have felt like they were watching a Formula 1 race. This is because while at Sachsenring on Saturday, the Marlboro Ducati team used a new fairing design for the Desmosedici GP10 that incorporates F1-style winglets.

Used for only part of Saturday’s sessions, both Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden were fitted with the new fairing, which has small lateral ‘wings’ on each side of the bike. Ducati says these wings are designed “to help prevent wheelies around the dramatic undulations” of the German circuit. We just think they look pretty cool. More photos after the jump.

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News

New Ducati Model to be Unveiled at Laguna Seca

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UPDATE: Ducati will be unveiling to the public its 2011 Ducati 848 Superbike EVO, which will have a $1,000 cheaper “Dark” variant as well.

Get ready Ducatisti, a new Ducati model is coming in two weeks. To be launched at Laguna Seca’s Ducati Island during the GP weekend, Ducati is tight lipped as to what the new model could be. In our invitation to the event, we are told only that the unveiling will be “hosted by four very excited guests to whom this new model means quite a lot.” The unveiling will be at 1pm on Saturday, and we’ll be there with our cameras.

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News

Michael Lock Officially Leaving Ducati North America

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UPDATE: Michael Lock has announced that he has taken on the role of Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at Think, an electric car manufacturer.

Asphalt & Rubber broke the news last week that Michael Lock was leaving Ducati North America before the company even knew it, and now the news that Michael Lock is leaving Ducati North America is finally official. Leaving the company in two weeks at the end of July, Lock will be moving on to pursue other interests.

Ducati Holdings Vice President of Sales Cristiano Silei will takeover at Ducati N.A. in the interim, as the company looks for a new CEO. With such short-notice on Lock’s departure, we’re left pondering why the successful CEO is leaving the company, more as we find it. Press release after the jump.

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Rumors

LEAKED: Sketch Explains Ducati Mega Monster

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This sketch really explains itself. Porportedly coming from an unnamed Ducati dealer, we see that the yet-to-be unveild Mega Monster will feature the 1198cc Testastretta 11° v-twin motor. Also mentioned in the sketch is a ride-by-wire throttle and traction control system. If this is truly Ducati Project 0803, can we please move on to Project 0804…this one makes baby Jesus cry.

Source: Ducati.ms via Ducati News Today

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Banter

The Ducati Coloring Book – Get Out Your Red Crayon

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Our parents discouraged us from motorcycles at an early age. Riding a Big Wheels until the age of 17, this author’s family viewed two-wheeled vehicles as rolling organ donor factories. Thus as kids, we only got crappy dinosaur coloring books when we were younger, and maybe if we were really good a couple TMNT books with extra green crayons.

Imagine what our motorcycling addiction would have be like today if our parents had given us a coloring book based around motorcycles. It’s too late for us, but there’s still time for today’s wee-ones. Get your own Ducati Coloring Book (links to a PDF), courtesy of DucCutters. Beck, if your parents don’t print this out for you, let us know.

Source: DucCutters via Ducati News Today

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