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Ducati Multistrada on the Road to Success
by Aman ChaudhryNo Comments
The new Ducati Multistrada has already proved to be a remarkable success with sales for 2010 expected to exceed previous sales forecasts by more than 20%.
Despite the Multistrada only being on the market for a few months, demand has often outstripped supply as bikers have flooded dealers with orders for this unique motorcycle. Ducati has worked closely with the factory to make sure that dealers receive bike allocations on time. Despite the increase in forecasted sales Ducati has been able to keep pace with orders and fulfil customer expectations by securing an additional 100 bikes for the market to be delivered in September.
For Ducati the Multistrada has not only been a sales success but also has successfully converted buyers from other brands with many purchasing a Ducati for the first time. Early indications suggest that over 40% of Multistrada buyers are new to the brand.
It is not only the design and quality of the bike that has brought new riders to the brand it is also the competitive service costs and service intervals throughout the range that has contributed to Ducati bucking the trend, with year on year growth in a very tough market.
The Multistrada is a new biking concept which combines sports performance while still providing an extremely comfortable ride and unrivalled versatility. The four-bikes-in-one concept uses three technologies which interact to instantly change the chassis set-up and character of the Multistrada 1200. Fitted as standard equipment on all versions, the electronic ride-by-wire system administers three different engine mappings to change the character of the engine, while Ducati Traction Control (DTC) uses eight levels of system interaction to enhance control. For the ‘S’ version, Ducati Electronic Suspension (DES) instantly configures the suspension set-up to suit ‘rider only’, ‘rider with luggage’, ‘rider and passenger’ or ‘rider and passenger with luggage’. It is the ‘S’model which has been responsible for 70% of all Multistrada sales with the ‘S’ Touring version proving the most popular.
Although ‘S’ models are still in high demand, customers can expect to order one now and take deliver by September/October. Base models in standard version or with ABS and are now available subject to individual dealer stock levels.
Press data & images: Ducati
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Rossi is Back!
by Aman ChaudhryNo CommentsFor all Valentino Rossi fans who were praying for his recovery have been rejoicing after his brilliant performance in the German MotoGP.
Rossi who finished fourth in at Sachsenring admitted surprise at his own performance. “I didn’t expect this! I thought it was maybe possible to make fourth or fifth place but I thought it would be very difficult. In the end I was fourth but I had a great battle with Casey and I was so close to the podium, so this is a fantastic result after missing four races.”
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Highlights of The Sachsenring 2010 – MotoGP
by Aman ChaudhryNo CommentsSticking to our tradition, we bring you the official video grabs of all the action from the eni Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland at the eighth race of the 2010 Season of MotoGP
Check out this video for the highlights and overview:
Dani Pedrosa talks to the press after his victory at Germany:
Paddock Girls. Hot as Ever at Sachsenring 2010:
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World Cup Time – Auto Safety on Alert!
by Aman Chaudhry1 CommentThe World Cup, yes the much-awaited Soccer World Cup 2010 is finally here. Soccer fans around the World have waited for this day for four full years and the excitement is understandable. Now, if you wondering why are we at Autogeared publishing this bit of news which everyone already knows, then we will give you a very good reason.
We are going to show you a video, actually our friends at Autoblog came out with it first but we liked it so much that we felt we must do our bit as well.
As the excitement build up with matches so does drinking, rage, road rage, exuberance naturally teamed up with hanging out of cars, out of the sun-roof, waving favorite flags and banners at all given times.
An automobile safety organization performed a World Cup crash test using test dummy fans in an Audi Avant to show us what might or could happen with so much high energy around.
This video might be in German but one does not need to understand the language to get the message. It is simple, direct, a little harsh but very true. Take a look.
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Panoz New 2011 Abruzzi Spirit of Le Mans
by Aman ChaudhryNo Comments
Racing fans all over the world continue to love the 24 Hours of Le Mans have always associated the name Panoz with it. Panoz makes some of the most exclusive high-performance sports and racing cars in America including the Esperante.
After almost two decades pf producing these brilliant cars, Panoz Auto Development is getting ready to launch their third model – The Abruzzi. The new 2011 Abruzzi Spirit of Le Mans will be officially launched next month along with the French endurance classic, all we have here is small teaser.
The Panoz Abruzzi Spirit of Le Mans is styled with classic Le Mans racers in mind, yet melded into a modern shape. The car’s equipment is 100-percent race inspired and high-performance, as well: a three-stage “Trifecta” cooling system keeps the car at proper operating temperature through a standard radiator coupled with secondary and tertiary cooling systems before and after the radiator. A properly cooled car is a more durable car–essential for 24 hours of laps under race conditions. The body and frame are optimized for impact-resistance, being the first road car built with REAMS (recyclable energy absorbing matrix system) material technology for safety and sustainability
The official unveling of The Abruzzi will take place at the Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans during the race week, and will be on display at the tracks throughout the event.
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MITSUBISHI RALLIART EVOLUTION – ROUND 2 PREVIEW
by Aman Chaudhry1 Comment
Round two of the Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge UK is set to take place this weekend, the Pirelli International Rally hosting the second event in the tenth season of the official one-make series for Group N Lancer Evolutions, the rally also featuring the second round of the Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship.
Highest Evolution Challenge seeds are Alastair Fisher and co-driver Rory Kennedy who will be looking to make up for their disappointment in round one, the Bulldog International Rally of North Wales, when they retired whilst in a commanding lead after their car developed terminal transmission problems. Such was their pace last time out, they are also likely to be challenging for top British Rally Championship positions.
Having secured their maiden Evolution Challenge victory on round one, Jonny Greer/Dai Roberts currently lead the series and are aiming to maintain their position at the top of the points table with another good run this weekend. However, the crew immediately behind them, David Bogie/Kevin Rae, will be piling on the pressure and are likely to be on a charge after a frustrating run in round one, when their car appeared to be down on power.
A crew definitely looking for better fortunes after their visit to North Wales are Owen Murphy/James O’Brien, who made it no further than the first stage, when a gearbox and subsequent clutch problem forced them into retirement not far from the start.
Following recent volcanic events, it is highly unlikely that Icelandic brother and sister Daniel Sigurdarson/Asta Sigurdardottir will make it to the start line. Ironically able to leave their own country, they currently cannot fly into UK airspace, so they are standing by in the hope that the situation may improve during the next-24 hours.
The ash clouds over Europe have already forced East African crew Peter Horsey/Moses Matovu to withdraw their entry and any chance of improving on their fourth place last time out. Added to this, series coordinator Simon Slade is also desitend to miss the event, having been stranded in Abu Dhabi following the opening round of the FIA GT1 World Championship at the Yas Marina Circuit last weekend.
Based at Carlisle Racecourse, the Pirelli International Rally features 12 special stages and 100 competitive miles in Keilder Forest. The event gets underway at 6.30 pm on Friday and sees three stages before the overnight halt, with the remaining nine stages taking place between 7.00 am and 7.00 pm on Saturday.
The 2010 Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge UK is supported by: Mitsubishi Motors UK, Pirelli tyres, Sunoco fuels, JRM, Cyprus Automobile Association, Fairways Mitsubishi, Speedline Corse wheels, Murray Motorsport, CL brake pads, Sparco racewear and PIAA lights – who sponsor the junior award for under 25-year old drivers.
For the first time this season the winner of the Evolution Challenge in the UK, Ireland and Sweden, will win the same prize: A supported drive in the FxPro Rally Cyprus, the final round of the IRC (Intercontinental Rally Challenge). Then, whichever of the three teams are first home on this event will be crowned European Evolution Challenge Champions. Added to this, the winning driver in the UK will be a guaranteed nomination for the Pirelli Star Driver shoot-out.
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Sébastien Loeb wins round four of WRC 2010
by Aman ChaudhryNo Comments
Defending and six-time champion Sébastien Loeb with his teammate Daniel Elena won the Rally of Turkey to mark a hatrick victory in 2010 World Rally Championship. Heavy rains on Saturday night and Sunday morning made the final day of the rally an extremely dangerous one which led to cancellation of two stages as well. The Citroën Total World Rally Team has a lead of 15 points over the BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team in the manufacturer’s standing.
The Frenchman produced yet another dominant performance to finish 54.5 seconds ahead of Norway’s Petter Solberg in a privately-entered Citroen. Loeb and Elena were first out and taking advantage of the moist ground conditions set the quickest time including a striking 85 meter jump. ‘It was an incredible sensation. We were up in the air for several seconds. In the recce, not for a moment did we imagine that we’d jump so far’ stated the exuberant winner.
Loeb who is chasing his seventh world title in succession, moved to 93 points, a lead of 40 over his nearest challenger Petter Solberg with 53.
Loeb said ‘This victory gives me a lot of pleasure, I won in a rally where, from a sporting point of view, the outcome of the battle was very indecisive for a long time. The route was a real challenge with some very quick sections and others in which you had to nurse the car. Once again the reliability of the C4 WRC was a huge help.’
He also went on to say ‘We had a great fight with Petter and Mikko. It was really tricky, we had some very different conditions yesterday and we had to say OK, we decided to stay first on the road today even if we are cleaning and finally it was a good choice, we expected maybe rain.’
Click here to see some live action of the exciting race.
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Button’s brilliant victory – Chinese GP 2010
by Aman ChaudhryNo Comments
Jenson Button marked his second victory for 2010 in a very exciting Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai today.
Team mate Lewis Hamilton secured 2nd position with some exceptional driving making it a 1-2 win for McLaren while Nico Roseberg beat Alonso for third position.
A rainy wet start to the race led the leading drivers namely both Red Bulls, both Ferraris, Schumacher and Hamilton into the pit lane for a change to intermediate tyres only to switch them in the next couple of laps while Button, Roseberg, Kubica and Pertov chose to continue on slicks which gave them a good lead.
This was a complete action packed race day with almost 4-5 pit stops for each driver, penalties and pending decisions.
Fernando Alonso got a penalty for a jump-start and was pulled down from his leading position during the race itself. Hamilton and Vettel decided to race wheel to wheel inside the pit lane with Hamilton drive on the blue line could cost this Brit some time. The decision is still pending.
Nico Roseberg who was leading at that time was caught off guard when the rain gods opened up once again, letting Button take a lead on him.
The safety cab was brought on the track, as there was debris on the track left after Alguersuari clipped an HRT car.
With all the drivers bunched up this time with Button leading, there was a lot of shoving and pushing on this track.
While Hamilton desperately (almost aggressively) tried to make his way to the top, he really had to fight Schumacher out of his way. The brilliant chase lasted for a while till Schumacher could not hold his defense any longer and Hamilton sqeezed past between turns 8 and 9.
Hamilton was on fire today as he soon went after chasing Roseberg for the second position. Both these drivers who started their racing careers at the same time with Karting knew each others moves quite well, showing some excellent driving.
The excitement mellowed down with 20 laps remaining as Button secured his pole position kept Hamilton running number 2 at a safe distance. It all came down who had looked after their tyres the most and Hamilton drove in a composed manner.
Formula One rookie, Vitaly Petrov marked his first ever F1 points by finishing seventh, while Webber, Massa and Schumi rounded in the top 10 of the grid.
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HALE TOPS TIME SHEETS : BARC TEST
by Aman ChaudhryNo Comments
Official pre-season testing for the 2010 Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship saw Fortec Motorsport’s Mitchell Hale (Bristol) top the timesheets at a sun-soaked Silverstone National circuit on Thursday, 8th April.
The 16-year-old former Ginetta Junior racer, who is coached by 2001 Clio Cup Champion Danny Buxton, posted a best overall time of 55.571s (106.17mph average) during the exclusive full-day test – 0.192s ahead of nearest rival and team-mate Joseph Reilly (London).
Hillspeed’s James Theodore (Telford), returning for his second season, went third quickest overall with SWB Motorsport’s Luke Wright (Shaftesbury, Dorset) and 17-year-old Alice Powell (Chipping Norton), who raced in the National-level Formula Renault UK series last year, rounding off the top five.
In glorious sunshine, 16 drivers took to the 1.64-mile Northamptonshire circuit for the morning session. Hale, Reilly and Powell all posted strong times early on as did 18-year-old Theodore. Hale eventually went quickest for the morning but the session also saw good times from Josh Webster (Suffolk), running with Fortec Motorsport, and Antel Motorsport’s Matthew Parry (Bury St Edmonds).
After the lunch break the leading drivers of Hale, Reilly, Theodore, Wright and Powell all went to the top of the timesheets with Webster and Parry again looking quick ahead of the season opener at Kent’s Brands Hatch Indy circuit on 17th/18th April. The second session also saw Anglo Motorsport’s Kasper Krogh (Denmark) set quick times along with returning driver Kourosh Khani (London) racing with Welch Motorsport. The session though belonged to Hale who set the fastest time of the day on new tyres on his 28th on 41 laps run.
Just over a week now remains until the start of the 2010 season which sees the introduction of the outgoing Formula Renault UK car to the grid alongside the existing BARC car in a one-class championship, together with a Privateer Cup for independently-run entries.
Commenting on his performance, Hale said: “I’m really pleased with how things have gone as we’ve been quick all day. Fortec Motorsport have done a great job with setting up the car and it also helps having a quick team-mate in Joseph Reilly, along with my coach Danny Buxton passing on his experience.”
The opening rounds of the 2010 Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship take place at Kent’s Brands Hatch Indy circuit on 17th/18th April.
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World Superbike Championship – Biaggi Takes Two!
by Aman Chaudhry4 Comments
The Portimao circuit at Portugal saw an action packed weekend at the second round of World Superbike Championship.
Max Biaggi of team Aprilia Alitalia Racing bagged first position in both the exciting races after an intense battle with Suzuki rider Leon Haslam.
Those who saw will know what an exciting race it was, with the two riders constantly changing positions on the track. Biaggi only managed this tight victory by 0.200sec in the first and 0.191sec in the second race.
Though Haslam still has maximum points (85) as he dominated the entire weekend, Biaagi comes close with 69 points.
The next race weekend for WSB is going to take place in Valencia.
For those who missed it, Click here to watch the highlights of the race.
Race One results:1. Max Biaggi (ITA) Aprilia
2. Leon Haslam (GBR) Suzuki
3. Jonathan Rea (IRL) Honda
4. Carlos Checa (SPA) Ducati
5. Leon Camier (GBR) Aprilia
6. Shane Byrne (GBR) Ducati
7. James Toseland (GBR) Yamaha
8. Nori Haga (JPN) Ducati
9. Troy Corser (AUS) BMW
10. Ruben Xaus (SPA) BMWRace Two results:
1. Max Biaggi (ITA) Aprilia
2. Leon Haslam (GBR) Suzuki
3. Cal Crutchlow (GBR) Yamaha
4. Carlos Checa (SPA) Ducati
5. Leon Camier (GBR) Aprilia
6. James Toseland (GBR) Yamaha
7. Shane Byrne (GBR) Ducati
8. Nori Haga (JPN) Ducati
9. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Suzuki
10. Troy Corser (AUS) BMWFor further information visit WSB official websit: http://www.worldsbk.com/en/home.html
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