Episode 108 of the Paddock Pass Podcast is out, and this one is a WorldSBK show. As such, this means that we see Steve English joined by Gordon Ritchie on the mics, as they are now our WorldSBK reporting duo for the 2019 season.
Recording straight from the United Kingdom, the guys talk about the on-track action at Donington Park, where we saw some big movement in the championship standings, after a miserable weekend of riding for Alvaro Bautista.
We broke the news two days ago that Ducati was working on a special edition of the Panigale V4, to help commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Ducati 916 Superbike. Now, we have some official details on that news to share with you.
Helping Ducati celebrate one of its most iconic bikes is one of the men who raced on them – quite successfully, we might add – Carl Fogarty.
As such, the Ducati Panigale V4 25° Anniversario 916 model will come with some nods to Fogarty’s racing legacy, while also reminding two-wheeled fans of Ducati’s rich history in the WorldSBK paddock.
Confirming the news we reported yesterday, Marco Melandri has made his retirement announcement official. As such, the 36-year-old Italian will hang up his leathers for good, at the end of this year’s WorldSBK Championship season.
Melandri’s career spans three decades of racing, and includes some impressive feats, but his results this season have surely been the deciding factor on today’s announcement.
Currently ninth in the WorldSBK Championship standings, Melandri’s season has seen high points at Phillip Island and Jerez, but has otherwise been a forgettable affair. This surely has been the cause for Melandri’s lack of motivation to continue racing.
I am not sure about this one, but the word out of Italy is that Marco Melandri is set this week to announce his retirement from motorcycle racing. Naturally, we are intrigued.
The rumor comes from La Gazzetta dello Sport (the same publication that’s also currently saying – quite dubiously, we might add – that this will be Jorge Lorenzo’s last season racing in MotoGP), and now the sports magazine suggests that Melandri is ready to hang up his leathers after a tough year back in WorldSBK.
When spy shots of a creatively painted Ducati Panigale V4 came out, we didn’t know what to make of it. The photos didn’t reveal too much beyond a unique paint job, which is why we quickly moved on from them, but our Bothan Spies have made sure that we are in the loop on what is afoot.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Ducati 916 Superbike, which is a milestone near and dear to the hearts of many Ducatisti. And thus, it doesn’t surprise us to see that the spy photos show a machine that gives homage to that era of Ducati’s history – the 916/996/998 are perhaps the most iconic motorcycles ever made.
Tie those pieces into the fact that we know that Ducati has a special event ahead of the Laguna Seca WorldSBK round, and things start to get interesting, which is where our headline comes into play.
Word on the street is that Ducati is about to release a Carl Fogarty edition of the Ducati Panigale V4.
Photos: © 2019 Stephen McClements – All Rights Reserved
Photos: © 2019 Stephen McClements – All Rights Reserved
It is a busy weekend in the motorcycle racing world, with both WorldSBK and MotoGP on track. From Donington Park, we have Stephen McClements once again on the ground, bringing us photos from the World Superbike paddock.
While most of the WorldSBK season has been about the Ducati with Alvaro Bautista onboard, with some occasional surprises by Jonathan Rea and his Kawasaki, today at Donington Park the talk was all about Tom Sykes and the BMW S1000RR.
Episode 105 of the Paddock Pass Podcast is out, and this one is a WorldSBK show. As such, this means that we see Steve English joined by Gordon Ritchie on the mics, as they are now our WorldSBK reporting duo for the 2019 season.
Recording straight from Spain, the guys talk about the on-track action at Jerez, where everyone is still talking about the coming together of Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes, in their final-lap incident in Race 1.
Before the guys get into that controversy though, they have a long discussion about Alvaro Bautista and how the Spaniard uses his Pirelli tires to his advantage.
Episode 102 of the Paddock Pass Podcast is out, and this one is a WorldSBK show. As such, this means that we see Steve English joined by Gordon Ritchie on the mics, as they are now our WorldSBK reporting duo for the 2019 season.
Recording straight from Italy, the guys talk about the on-track action at Imola, where we saw a surprising turn of events.
First there is the race result from Saturday to discuss, and unbeknownst to the fellas, racing for Sunday would be canceled (we remind our listeners that our WorldSBK shows are recorded mid-race weekend).
A month ago, we told you about Kawasaki thinking about its response to the Ducati Panigale V4 R, which is dominating in the World Superbike Championship right now.
In short, to counter the Italians’ creation, the Japanese brand was thinking of brining its own homologation special superbike to market, which like the Panigale V4 R, would be a race bike with lights, built only with the idea of winning the WorldSBK title.
Today, we seem to get further proof that Team Green will release a new Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR for the 2020 model year, thanks to the company’s filings with the California Air Resources Board (CARB).
