Nicky Hayden gets MotoGP test time at Mugello

This Wednesday and Thursday, Ducati MotoGP star Nicky Hayden will join the factory's Test Team during the last two days of a three-day test at Mugello.

The aim of the test is to permit the American, who finished sixth and top Ducati at round one in Qatar, to make up for time lost during winter testing due to injuries at the 2011 Valencia Grand Prix and then in a December training event.

Hayden is thus predictable to use the time as an opportunity to carry out set-up tests that he wasn't able to complete prior to the start of the season. The 2006 world champion will join official test rider Franco Battaini, who is previously on track today (Tuesday) as he continues his development work on the GP12.

Those updates will be tried by Valentino Rossi and Hayden during future tests.

Round two of the 2012 MotoGP season takes place at Jerez, Spain, from April 27-29.

Rossi: Aragon expectations 'higher than usual'

Valentino Rossi is raising his prospect 'a little higher than usual' as he heads for Ducati's best event of the 2010 season, at Aragon.

Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden finished one-three in Moto GP's first ever race at the imposing Spanish circuit last year, when Rossi finished sixth for Yamaha.

Rossi returns sixth in the 2011 championship, with just one stage, from his 13 races on the Desmosedici.

“Last year at Aragon was the best race of the year for Ducati, so we move toward this round with our expectations a little higher than usual," said Rossi.

"In addition, after the difficult practice sessions at Misano, we establish a good setup in the end and I had a better feeling with the bike and managed to ride it better in the race, particularly in the early laps.

"Now we'll try to unite the two things - the track that seems to work well with the Desmosedici and the good setup work - in order to find the same feeling on Sunday.”

Team manager Vittoriano Guareschi doesn't wait for any major breakthrough this weekend, and again emphasised that Ducati is working for the future.

“We have some great memories of Aragon from last year, so we're happy to return. Every season has its own story though, and we're currently working not only for this weekend but also beyond," he said.

"Our riders and team are completely listening carefully on the goal, and they're giving us a collaborative working group that I think is tremendously important. At Aragon, we expect to continue gathering data and in sequence on the Desmosedici and to speed up the setup work during the practice sessions.”

Ducati: No 1000cc test at Brno

Ducati's 2012 MotoGP prototype will keep away from a head-to-head assessment with rival 1000cc machines from Honda and Yamaha, after the factory announced that this year's 800cc bike will be used at Monday's official post-race test at Brno.

Ducati has already used five of the eight days of 1000cc testing acceptable with MotoGP riders this year - compared with two days for Honda and none for Yamaha.

All the preceding factory 1000cc tests have been detained in private, but that will change on Monday in the Czech Republic with Honda and Yamaha both confirming that their factory MotoGP riders will try 2012 bikes.

However Ducati has determined that both Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden will offer that day to working on the 800'.

“The Test Team tried some electronics updates at Mugello, and we'll use them in the post-race test at Brno to carry on improving the setup and reduce the gap to the lead group," said team manager Vittoriano Guareschi.

"Filippo [Preziosi] will be on hand Monday, and we'll carry on the development work on the GP11.1 with both Valentino and Nicky.”

While Rossi will go on to ride the GP11.1 throughout the grand prix weekend, team-mate Hayden - who completed his first laps on the customized bike during Friday practice at the previous US GP - revealed that he is probable to use the original GP11.

"Obviously the test on Monday will be really significant for us. I'll almost certainly just ride the GP11 on the race weekend and then test the new bike on Monday," said the American.

Rossi and Hayden will start round eleven (of 18) holding fifth and seventh in the world championship, with one podium apiece so far this period.

Comeback race for Rossi and Hayden at Mugello

Valentino Rossi was left last at the start of the Gran Premio d’Italia TIM to find himself in twelth place at the end of the first lap, but aggravated by the enthusiastic crowd, he caught the group of riders in front of him and climbed to sixth place. The Italian had a better pace in the race than he had all weekend, thanks to a setup change that his technicians made previous to the warm-up.

Nicky Hayden had a great launch at the start and at once climbed to fifth place, but he went long in a corner and couldn’t stop on the dirty part of the asphalt. He went off the track and re-entered in last place. He climbed as high as tenth place after that, and even though he was disappointed by the lost opportunity, he was pleased that the work done over the weekend has helped him find a good feeling with his GP11.

Valentino Rossi:

"We have a bike that is dissimilar in many aspects from the one we started the season with. We’re aware that it needs to undergo further development from a technical point of view, but even at this stage it has shown that it has a good margin of enhancement just with setup. The weather didn’t help us at Assen, and the same was true here. We had imperfect time to work this weekend, so once again we made a significant setup change on Sunday morning. It was a step forward, and in the race I was able to have a better rhythm than in practice, although the enhanced behavior in corners was accompanied by a small loss of grip. Anyway, we think it’s a good direction to try in the future with our setup. I lost some time on the start because the clutch slipped, and I was almost last into the first turn, with a lot of ground to make up. It’s a shame because I’ve always managed to do well on the starts with the Ducati this year. Still, I’m not sure how long I would have been able to stay with Spies and Simoncelli even if I had started better. The gap on lap times was less than at Assen, which is optimistic, but it’s still quite large, about eight tenths. We have to keep working in arrange to stay with the Hondas and Yamahas. We’re all doing all we can, both us at the track and the guys at Ducati. It’s certainly a difficult situation, but to come here to Mugello and see all these flags and fans cheering forever provides a big thrill and gives us motivation to return to the front.”

Rossi and Hayden inspired for Catalunya

The Ducati Team riders are keenly anticipating this weekend’s Gran Premi Aperol de Catalunya, at a circuit they both enjoy.

Both Ducati Team riders like the Catalan Grand Prix, citing both the track’s layout and the large crowds that forever heat up the Spanish races. Valentino Rossi, who did not take part in the 2010 round due to injury, has scored wins at the track in every class, collecting an inspiring nine victories and a further four podiums. Nicky Hayden also made the podium in 2006, on his way to the MotoGP title.

Valentino Rossi:

“The Catalan Grand Prix is one of the nicest of the season, for a number of reasons: Barcelona is a beautiful city, the track is really nice – almost certainly my second-favourite after Mugello – and finally, as is always the case at Spanish races, the grandstands are packed with enthusiastic fans. I’m really happy to return to the track, since I had to watch the race from my house last year. I’ve always been quite strong at the track, so I have many nice memories, the most recent of which is the 2009 win after a great clash with Lorenzo. We’re very aggravated and we’re working really hard on the bike; step-by-step, we can see that we’re making progress. We know there’s still a lot of work to be done, but we need to keep annoying to get closer to the front.”

Nicky Hayden:

“Any race in Spain is huge, and Catalunya is no exemption. It’s a good track. I made the podium there in 2006, although I haven’t gotten the results I’d like there in recent years, particularly last season. I’m looking forward to it. The two weeks off have been okay, but I like this part of the season, with back-to-back races. The next month and a half is leaving to be busy, because this is when the season really gets going. Even though our end result wasn’t a lot better in Le Mans, I absolutely think we were closer to the front. Ducati hasn’t stopped functioning over the last couple of weeks, and we’ll see at Barcelona if we can keep going on the right path.”

Ducati Team duo hopeful for sunshine in Portugal

MotoGP series proceeds to action at a track that is very demanding and full of contrasts. Despite it having the lowly average speed of the tracks on the calendar, the Estoril circuit also includes very fast sections, counting one of the longest straight aways of the year.

Valentino Rossi has won five times in his eleven premier-class visits to the track, and he has ended on the podium on five other occasions, whilst the best result of his team-mate Nicky Hayden is a fourth place in 2007. The American will be looking to erect on his rostrum finish last time out in Jerez.

Valentino Rossi, Ducati Team

“We’ve had three weekends without a race so I was clever to unwind for a while following the GP12 test at Jerez, although I sustained training to help my physical recovery. Now we go to Estoril, a track I quite like, where we’ll carry on working on the GP11’s setup, particularly during the test on Monday. The conditions are often changeable at Estoril because the area is very windy and close to the ocean, making for variable weather. We saw at Jerez that we’re already spirited in the wet, however we’re hoping for sun in Portugal, so that we can make the most of our time on the track. We still have to understand the bike better and to work on the setup, with the goal of being faster in the dry in time for the mainly intense phase of the season, when we’ll have six races in eight weeks initial in June.”

Rossi and Hayden positive after Friday practices

Valentino Rossi posted the third-fastest time overall during the first day of practice in the Gran Premio bwin de España. The Italian set his quickest lap of 1’40.077 in the morning session, when situation were slightly cooler and not as windy. Nicky Hayden on the other hand, was among one of the riders who improved in the afternoon, when he finished ninth, a little less than a second off his team-mate, in the mutual results from both sessions. His fastest lap time was 1’41.058.

Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team)

“I’m happy because this morning I did the third-fastest time. In the afternoon when the senior temperature hurt us a little, I was fifth. Anyway, most of the riders went a bit slower in the second session. Apart from the two Hondas at the front, we’re earlier to everyone else, which was our goal. It was a good day. There’s still work to do; we’re trying to find the right balance, and that’s why we’re trying two settings that are a little dissimilar from each other as we work on weight distribution. We have to improve the feeling with the front a little, the bike that I prefer still doesn’t turn like we want it to, which means we’ll have to find a compromise flanked by the two set-ups. As for my shoulder, I don’t have much strength, but in terms of endurance, it’s a little better.”

Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team)

“We’re basically riding the same bike as in Qatar. Obviously with a couple of small tweaks for this track, you need a stiffer front spring and a few other modest differences. We feel closer than we were in Losail. We made a little step forward this afternoon and it’s good because only a few riders improved in the afternoon sitting, though the wind was a lot worse. It’s the same for everybody, but the wind was really brutal today, particularly around here where you’re leaned over in a lot of long corners. We’re still almost a second off of the front riders, but at least we’re inside a second, which wasn’t the case at Round 1. We’re not over here jumping up and down with joy, but we’re positive, and we’ll keep improving. There are a few places I’m lacking, but we’re trying to just make small gains and not make too numerous big changes.”

Rossi satisfied with Qatar improvement and shoulder

The Ducati Team rider was pleased with day one at the MotoGP Test in Qatar, despite a minor fall on his GP11. Team-mate Nicky Hayden was also in a optimistic mood after Sunday's session.

With the opening round of the MotoGP World Championship just around the corner, the Ducati MotoGP Team made steady development during the first half of a two-night pre-season Test at Qatar’s Losail International Circuit, where temperatures were around 23°C and track circumstances decent. Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden both completed the evening firmly inside the top ten, and they look onward to taking further steps on Monday.

Valentino Rossi, 8th, 1'57.038:

“It wasn’t terrible for a first day. I was able to ride the bike better, and I enjoyed myself. Although I was just eighth, my times aren’t too far from the top: seven tenths is still a big difference, but anyway it’s progress, bearing in mind that I did my best time with a very used tyre. We worked well on the settings, even if in a couple parts of the circuit I’m still not fast sufficient, and we’ll have to try some more solutions tomorrow. As for the shoulder, I’m happy because I have a little more strength, and that enables me to ride better. Today I also had my first crash on a Ducati, which I naturally did deliberately because after a while, you have to do a little fall… All joking aside, I entered too quickly and lost the front: I was able to pick it up and avoid deafening while I was on the track, but I dropped it in the gravel – no big deal though.”

Nicky Hayden, 9th, 1'57.137:

“Right out of the gate, it wasn’t too bad, and then we were up against a wall for a while. The team made one little change with ride height and I was able to get a polite lap time and get reliable. In parts of the track I felt pretty good, but there are spots where the navigation still needs to improve. If we can do better in those areas, we should be able to drop the lap time. I feel a little bit closer than Malaysia, but we certainly need to go earlier tomorrow.”

Rossi and Hayden to get individual Ducati send-off ahead of Qatar

Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden will be given the full VIP treatment before they head off for the Qatar MotoGP 2011 curtain-raiser next month, with a special Ducati evening in Italy in face of fans and employees.

The public appearance will take place in Piazza Maggiore in the centre of Bologna on the evening of Friday 4 March, with record-breaking numerous world champion Rossi and team-mate Hayden set to be joined by the new Desmosedici GP11 in all its earth-shattering glory, and the event is being billed as a stunning send-off before the team heads overseas to Qatar.

The entire personnel of Ducati's Bologna plant has been invited to be there the evening, whilst supporters from all over the world are likewise invited to join in with the celebrations.

MOTOGP: Rossi Tears Down The Wall

Walls in-between MotoGP pits have become commonplace in recent years and even teammates that get along, such as last year's Tech3 combination of Colin Edwards and Ben Spies, have preferred the divider. Spies has stated he felt it helped his guys cut down on the disorder in the garage.

“Good fences make good neighbors,” wrote Robert Frost a long time ago. And there’s amazing to it.

But as he so often does, Valentino Rossi astonished MotoGP observers by saying he wants to buck the trend this year. Rossi’s recent comments at the Ducati team statement in the Dolomite Mountains echoed Ronald Reagan’s “tear down this wall” speech.

Rossi said he wants no wall and for the two riders to share data and to assist fully in Ducati’s 2011 assault. While Nicky Hayden and Casey Stoner had very different setup preferences for the paddock’s most sole handling machine, Rossi and Nick are closer.

Teammate Hayden raced next to Rossi at Honda years ago and there is a level of admiration between the two riders that allowed them to coexist then and now.

MotoGP : Rossi & Hayden Ice Footage

Here's some recording of Ducati MotoGP team riders Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden racing different machines Friday at the Wroom occasion at Madonna di Campiglio in the Dolomites, Italy.

The traditional ice race finished the week-long event; Rossi and Hayden competed in go-karts and then Fiat Cinquecentos.

Rossi and Hayden represented the Ducati MotoGP team, and the famous Formula 1 drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa were on behalf of the Italian icon Ferrari, along with three Ferrari F1 test drivers.

The nine-time World Champion Rossi, who signed with the Ducati Team after seven years of MotoGP racing with Yamaha, did not participate in any events like snowboarding at the Wrooom event, but still had some fun in the ice races.

The go-kart races were first, and although Rossi's contribution was dubious due to recovering from shoulder surgery, the Italian still raced.

Alonso, who has talked Rossi's four-wheel aptitude down before, got out front first, led all 20 laps. Rossi would finish fifth. But the American Hayden had different luck, and broken third behind Massa and race-winner, Alonso.

In the Fiat Cinquecentos ice race, the winner again was the Spaniard Alonso. Like his performance in the go-kart race, the Ferrari star Alonso led every lap of the race. Hayden ended second, and Rossi third. Last year at the ice race, the teams raced Fiat Pandas, and Hayden took the win.

Besides taking on Alonso, Rossi was also unveiled in 2011 Ducati Team MotoGP colors for the first time. The team's 2011 Ducati GP11 MotoGP motorcycles were also unvieled in 2011 colors.

Wrooom finishes with a stunning exhibition

Ducati Team riders Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden faced Scuderia Ferrari F1 stars Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa in an ice-race on the final day of the Wrooom Press Meeting.

Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden connected Ferrari’s Formula 1 drivers for a stunning exhibition on Madonna di Campiglio’s frozen lake in front of an enthusiastic crowd of over 5,000 people.

“This week has been a fantastic event, and the races at the end were a lot of fun,” said Valentino. “In the end, I determined to take part because the atmosphere here at Wrooom was so fantastic, and because the fans deserved it. I got a few jolts from the holes, but nothing too bad. It was value it.”

"This was my third Wrooom, and I believe it was the best one yet," echoed Nicky Hayden. "It seems like they just make it better every year. They really treat us good, and we make a lot of friends, and it’s great to see them each year. This is a great way to kick things off, but there’s been sufficient talking about everything now. It’s time to get out there and do the real thing. I look forward to it."

Rossi to be unveiled in Ducati colours at Wrooom 2011

Ducati’s 2011 MotoGP project will be formally presented this week at Madonna di Campiglio, with the celebration of the customary Wrooom event. The gathering, which takes place at the Italian ski resort at the turn of each new year, will offer media and fans a first detection of Valentino Rossi in Ducati red as the Italian joins team-mate Nicky Hayden for the week-long programme.

The riders, guests and media will arrive on Monday evening after which a busy schedule will begin. On Tuesday morning both Hayden and Rossi will be the focus of concentration as they field questions from the gathered press in person press conferences, following which they will pretense for photographs with Team Manager Vittoriano Guareschi and then meet fans.

Then on Wednesday it will be the turn of Claudio Domenicali, boss of Ducati Corse, to answer enquiries about the new GP11 prototype after which the 2011 machine will be unveiled. Joining the MotoGP riders during the week will be Scuderia Ferrari drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa, who will be on hand to present the Italian Formula 1 team’s 2011 car.

Recap 2010: Gran Premio d’Italia TIM

MotoGp's comprehensive summary of the fourth round of the season at the Mugello Circuit offers you the chance to re-live the best of the action, with easy one-click access to the video highlights.

Mugello played host to the World Championship on the first weekend of June as round four called on the beautiful Tuscan countryside, and with the weather remaining fine throughout the three days it was an eventful stage in Italy.

The official pre-event saw some World Championship riders attempt to make a traditional Italian pizza, although their dough skills failed to match up to their abilities on board a motorcycle! The serious business began later that afternoon as a quintet of the MotoGP stars – Nicky Hayden, Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo, Andrea Dovizioso and Marco Simoncelli – attended the pre-race press conference as anticipation for the race grew.

The time for talking was soon over as the on-track action commenced and it was reigning World Champion Valentino Rossi who took control of the opening practice session, setting the fastest time as Casey Stoner experienced a difficult start to the session.

Guareschi: “We have high aims for 2011”

The Ducati Team Manager discusses the 2010 campaign with Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden and also previews 2011 in a video feature interview.

Vittoriano Guareschi reviewed his first season as Team Manager of the Ducati factory team in a special post-season interview, which can be viewed in the attached video, discussing the 2010 campaigns of Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden.

“This year has gone well and not so well for us. We suffered at the start, wasting some good opportunities, but in the end we have recovered. We started the season with a GP10 that had an engine that was unprecedented, a big bang version in contrast to the screamer that was used the year before. We had to work on the set-up for Casey and make the bike as familiar for him as possible,” said Guareschi, who continued to review the Australian’s season.

“At the start of the year, and until mid-season, we weren’t able to extract the full potential of the engine. Starting at Aragón we found a set-up that satisfied him fully and then we became main players. If it had been like this from the very start of the year then we would have been amongst those fighting for the title until the end.”

State of Indiana presents Hayden with award

Nicky Hayden earned the Executive Director's Award presented by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI) for his dedication and service to the Indiana Motorcycle Safety and the Awareness campaign.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Senior Vice President Mel Harder accepted the award on Hayden's behalf from ICJI Executive Director T. Neil Moore at the 16th annual Operation Pull Over Awards Banquet on Nov. 19 in Carmel, Ind. The ICJI and Governor's Council on Impaired & Dangerous Driving played host to the banquet.

"I'm honored to receive this award," Hayden said. "It's been great to work with everyone from the ICJI on this project. I know how great riding motorcycles can be when done the right way, and I'm happy to help increase awareness of safety for all riders in Indiana and everywhere."

Ducati Team star Hayden lent his time and talent to endorse safe, sober riding by all motorcyclists across Indiana. He was featured in many radio and television spots warning against drinking and riding and speeding, and promoting motorist awareness and the use of a helmet and other safety gear. Hayden also was featured in the outdoor and print advertising portion of the popular campaign.

Hayden returns to scene of sole Ducati podium

Despite an impressive start to the 2010 MotoGP season, which saw four fourth-places from the first five races, Nicky Hayden will doubtless be disappointed to be returning to the scene of his debut Ducati podium - at his home Indianapolis round this weekend - without any further top three finishers to his name.

The American has been very close, most notably at the round one in Qatar (+0.011) and Silverstone (+0.217) - and he also beat team-mate Casey Stoner fair-and-square in the first two races they both have finished this season.

But Stoner has regained the initiative with five podiums in the last five rounds and Hayden, who could be confirmed as a 2011 Ducati rider alongside Valentino Rossi this weekend, will be fired up to continue his perfect podium record at Indy - having finished second in 2008 and third in the 2009.

"I really can't wait to get to Indy for the race," said Hayden. "It's such a famous track with so much history and being so close to my home I got a big crew making the trip to support me and my brother [Roger, racing in the Moto2 event].

"The event has really grown a lot in just a few years with the Indy mile dirt track, enduro cross, the stunt shows and all the downtown events, which really gives the fans a chance to make the trip worthwhile."

Hayden chipped his wrist in a practice fall at the previous Brno round, but insists the injury won't be a problem this weekend.

"My broken wrist is better than last week in the Brno, which I am very happy about, so we'll see on Friday just how much better. The weather looks good so I hope to come out strong from the gun on Friday and have a weekend worth remembering. Let's get it!" he declared.

"This is one of the most important races of the year for Nicky and definitely the one he looks forward to the most," added team manager Vittoriano Guareschi. "He finished third last year and considering the big steps forward he has made this season, coming close to the podium on the several occasions, we hope he can be celebrating a similar result."