Ducati Monster Forum

We'll start off with an announcement from Captain Obvious:
http://www.crash.net/motogp/news/251014/1/valentino-rossi-declared-fit-to-ride.html

Whether he's actually fit to ride remains to be seen.

Apparently he's still in considerable pain. It's obvious that he wasn't going to miss it, but I'm wondering how much pain killers he can take to keep it manageable.

https://youtu.be/woyZ1mb0L5Q

Crusty and Dovi have some early pace.

From what I understood the "Magic Unibrow" found a setting during the last test that greatly improved the issue with load on the front wheel.

FP1:

Pos.   Num.   Rider   Nation   Team   Bike   Km/h   Time   Gap 1st/Prev.
1   4   Andrea DOVIZIOSO   ITA   Ducati Team   Ducati   352.3   1'47.394   
2   51   Michele PIRRO   ITA   Ducati Team   Ducati   351.4   1'47.595   0.201 / 0.201
3   25   Maverick VIÑALES   SPA   Movistar Yamaha MotoGP   Yamaha   343.0   1'47.669   0.275 / 0.074
4   5   Johann ZARCO   FRA   Monster Yamaha Tech 3   Yamaha   338.1   1'47.674   0.280 / 0.005
5   8   Hector BARBERA   SPA   Reale Avintia Racing   Ducati   351.4   1'47.708   0.314 / 0.034
6   99   Jorge LORENZO   SPA   Ducati Team   Ducati   343.5   1'47.747   0.353 / 0.039
7   9   Danilo PETRUCCI   ITA   OCTO Pramac Racing   Ducati   351.2   1'47.962   0.568 / 0.215
8   94   Jonas FOLGER   GER   Monster Yamaha Tech 3   Yamaha   338.9   1'47.974   0.580 / 0.012
9   93   Marc MARQUEZ   SPA   Repsol Honda Team   Honda   340.3   1'47.980   0.586 / 0.006
10   35   Cal CRUTCHLOW   GBR   LCR Honda   Honda   340.3   1'48.194   0.800 / 0.214
11   29   Andrea IANNONE   ITA   Team SUZUKI ECSTAR   Suzuki   350.1   1'48.274   0.880 / 0.080
12   19   Alvaro BAUTISTA   SPA   Pull&Bear Aspar Team   Ducati   348.0   1'48.289   0.895 / 0.015
13   26   Dani PEDROSA   SPA   Repsol Honda Team   Honda   341.7   1'48.291   0.897 / 0.002
14   41   Aleix ESPARGARO   SPA   Aprilia Racing Team Gresini   Aprilia   339.1   1'48.394   1.000 / 0.103
15   46   Valentino ROSSI   ITA   Movistar Yamaha MotoGP   Yamaha   340.9   1'48.513   1.119 / 0.119
16   45   Scott REDDING   GBR   OCTO Pramac Racing   Ducati   345.4   1'48.743   1.349 / 0.230
17   43   Jack MILLER   AUS   EG 0,0 Marc VDS   Honda   340.9   1'49.119   1.725 / 0.376
18   53   Tito RABAT   SPA   EG 0,0 Marc VDS   Honda   344.3   1'49.123   1.729 / 0.004
19   76   Loris BAZ   FRA   Reale Avintia Racing   Ducati   335.4   1'49.526   2.132 / 0.403
20   44   Pol ESPARGARO   SPA   Red Bull KTM Factory Racing   KTM   341.4   1'49.677   2.283 / 0.151
21   22   Sam LOWES   GBR   Aprilia Racing Team Gresini   Aprilia   336.4   1'49.679   2.285 / 0.002
22   17   Karel ABRAHAM   CZE   Pull&Bear Aspar Team   Ducati   345.1   1'49.754   2.360 / 0.075
23   38   Bradley SMITH   GBR   Red Bull KTM Factory Racing   KTM   336.8   1'50.686   3.292 / 0.932
24   50   Sylvain GUINTOLI   FRA   Team SUZUKI ECSTAR   Suzuki   341.4   1'50.996   3.602 / 0.310

FP2:
Pos.   Num.   Rider   Nation   Team   Bike   Km/h   Time   Gap 1st/Prev.
1   35   Cal CRUTCHLOW   GBR   LCR Honda   Honda   339.5   1'47.365   
2   4   Andrea DOVIZIOSO   ITA   Ducati Team   Ducati   350.6   1'47.526   0.161 / 0.161
3   94   Jonas FOLGER   GER   Monster Yamaha Tech 3   Yamaha   341.0   1'47.543   0.178 / 0.017
4   5   Johann ZARCO   FRA   Monster Yamaha Tech 3   Yamaha   344.2   1'47.685   0.320 / 0.142
5   26   Dani PEDROSA   SPA   Repsol Honda Team   Honda   344.4   1'47.699   0.334 / 0.014
6   8   Hector BARBERA   SPA   Reale Avintia Racing   Ducati   352.2   1'47.710   0.345 / 0.011
7   19   Alvaro BAUTISTA   SPA   Pull&Bear Aspar Team   Ducati   347.8   1'47.728   0.363 / 0.018
8   29   Andrea IANNONE   ITA   Team SUZUKI ECSTAR   Suzuki   349.1   1'47.807   0.442 / 0.079
9   51   Michele PIRRO   ITA   Ducati Team   Ducati   351.2   1'47.883   0.518 / 0.076
10   9   Danilo PETRUCCI   ITA   OCTO Pramac Racing   Ducati   348.2   1'47.950   0.585 / 0.067
11   99   Jorge LORENZO   SPA   Ducati Team   Ducati   350.6   1'47.954   0.589 / 0.004
12   46   Valentino ROSSI   ITA   Movistar Yamaha MotoGP   Yamaha   341.1   1'48.000   0.635 / 0.046
13   25   Maverick VIÑALES   SPA   Movistar Yamaha MotoGP   Yamaha   340.5   1'48.014   0.649 / 0.014
14   93   Marc MARQUEZ   SPA   Repsol Honda Team   Honda   341.6   1'48.103   0.738 / 0.089
15   45   Scott REDDING   GBR   OCTO Pramac Racing   Ducati   349.4   1'48.111   0.746 / 0.008
16   41   Aleix ESPARGARO   SPA   Aprilia Racing Team Gresini   Aprilia   342.0   1'48.129   0.764 / 0.018
17   43   Jack MILLER   AUS   EG 0,0 Marc VDS   Honda   343.5   1'48.560   1.195 / 0.431
18   53   Tito RABAT   SPA   EG 0,0 Marc VDS   Honda   343.2   1'48.664   1.299 / 0.104
19   76   Loris BAZ   FRA   Reale Avintia Racing   Ducati   338.0   1'48.751   1.386 / 0.087
20   22   Sam LOWES   GBR   Aprilia Racing Team Gresini   Aprilia   337.9   1'48.842   1.477 / 0.091
21   17   Karel ABRAHAM   CZE   Pull&Bear Aspar Team   Ducati   346.7   1'48.925   1.560 / 0.083
22   44   Pol ESPARGARO   SPA   Red Bull KTM Factory Racing   KTM   343.0   1'49.524   2.159 / 0.599
23   38   Bradley SMITH   GBR   Red Bull KTM Factory Racing   KTM   343.8   1'49.640   2.275 / 0.116
24   50   Sylvain GUINTOLI   FRA   Team SUZUKI ECSTAR   Suzuki   341.9   1'50.054   2.689 / 0.414

Crap, FP2 is a freaking crash-fest!!

Mark

And the Duc is wheelie-ing all over the place! They really need to find a replacement to the winglets soon.

Look at the list of big names that did not break into the top 10 in FP2! Weather looks good tomorrow, so I assume there's going to need to be a lot of movement in FP3.

My boy went down hard.

http://m.crash.net/motogp/news/251056/1/vinales-a-bit-damaged-but-ok-after-130mph-fall.html

Yes, weather looks good for tomorrow, so some folks didn't fit soft bun(s) and pin it.

Rossi looked pretty sore and stiff.

Top 14 in FP1 and top 16 in FP2 covered by less than a second, that's a fairly tight pack.

Mav took a pretty solid beating, he jumped up quick but then looked a bit second hand.

I'm predicting a good race. Today was some brutal heat.

Dovi!
Great win despite being stricken with gastro. Mav 2nd and Monkey 3rd with the injured GOAT hanging in there for 4th.
Pedro took out Crusty on the last lap and better run to avoid a beating ala Miller.
The Ducatis were pushing 350 km per hour (one hit 352) and 5 Ducatis in the top 10.
Mav extends his lead.

Great race. The red bikes were flying!  [clap]

I didn't get a chance to watch the whole race, was rushing through it right before church, but all I have to say is that maybe it's time for Ducati to dip into Jorghey's paycheck and give Dovi a nice bonus.

Great videos out of Mugello today. From Nicky's tribute to Capirossi riding around on a Ducati. Mugello is definitely on the bucket list.

Terrific result for Ducati, 1st and 3rd with Italian riders!

Now for some consistency week in, week out...

Rossi admirable for 4th, but Dovi, with gastro, gutted it out for the win! YES!

   It was a fun fact to learn that the man standing next to and laughing with Gigi during the podium ceremony was, in fact, Dovi's manager !

   And how about that head-shake incident that Dovi pulled off in the opening lap(s) ?  Looked like both wheels picked up off the ground from a compression while riding off the main line.  I was holding my breath thinking he was going to clean out some of the front runners,  but he just slotted right back in line and went to work. 

   One thing I couldn't understand was the butt slapping gesture he made after the race for the Ducati fan section after the race... must be an Italian thing. 

Enjoyed seeing the bridesmaid win. Seems a decent bloke too, yeah I didnt get the gesture. Speaking of decent blokes, that quote  of Nicky's about motorcycling being a way of life really captured it perfectly.
The bikes getting airborne was much more dangerous than the protruding wings. Honda complained because they couldnt do it as well as Ducati (and the Duc benefitted from it), rather than from a position of safety. At 350 kmph, the bikes need wings for safety.

If it's still there, I guess it's his "Desmo Dovi" logo getting some 'love'  8)

http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2017/06/04/ride-of-his-life-dovizioso-takes-magnificent-win-at-mugello/230389

That was a very entertaining race!

Looked like Cal left the door open just wide enough to lure Dani into an impossible pass.
I feel bad for them both.

I was on the edge of my seat expecting some disaster to befall Dovi, but I'm so happy he got a totally legit dry race win.

That bike was wiggling before he went over the rise, then it went apeshit after it landed sideways.
Very impressive save.
Lorenzo had one too.

5 out of the top 10 were Ducatis.
I'm sure Lorenzo is flipping out, the bike had the chops today, he was at the front early and just couldn't deliver the goods.

I was expecting Zarco to make some big moves, but it never happened.

I'm pretty sure that was Claudio Domenicali. Big wig Ducati Corse Director. He was a happy man and I don't blame him one bit.

Domenicali was on the podium, and he's a bigger wig than that. He's the CEO of Ducati. Gigi is Ducati Corse GM.

Dovi's manager was indeed talking to Gigi during the podium ceremonies.

Bonus time!!

Moto3 was highly entertaining. Every lap seemed to have a new leader.

(http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa91/chiflado/6AC972EF-BD23-42D1-8A5A-DDE297F5FBCA.jpg) (http://s201.photobucket.com/user/chiflado/media/6AC972EF-BD23-42D1-8A5A-DDE297F5FBCA.jpg.html)

Where's Dovi?

To his wife's left.

Right behind what I assume is his smoking hot wife.

Now I understand why I missed him.

Took me a minute too.

Interesting that she's not wearing any Ducati gear.

She's just fine as is. Dovi's the man ;D
Hope he gets a few more wins from this being a turning point in his career.

Yes she is. Lol!

I hope he does!! 👍🏻👍🏻