Nicky Hayden recorded his second best result of the season so far at Brno today, where he crossed the line in sixth place following a weekend of hard work and continual progress with his team. The American didn't get the best of starts and was boxed in by the group around him but he fought back to regain positions and kept pace with the riders ahead of him to take the chequered flag less than four seconds behind the final podium finisher.

Mika Kallio, making his debut for the Ducati Marlboro Team in place of Casey Stoner, produced a competitive pace but was unable to make it to the end of his first race with the team following a misunderstanding with Marco Melandri, the two riders colliding and crashing out of their battle for eighth place. However, it was a satisfying weekend for the Finn, a rookie in the MotoGP class, who has set competitive lap times all weekend.


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Unlucky race for the Pramac Racing debutant Michel Fabrizio who after Friday contusion at the right shoulder during free practice has today torn his right shoulder muscle. This didn't allow him to conclude the Czech Republic Grand Prix as he retired after five laps. His teammate, Niccolò Canepa, made it to conclude in twelfth place not the most exciting race. Niccolò has tried to remain with the other riders in the first part of the race, but in the second half due to the high temperatures the rear tyre didn't allow him to continue to maintain the same rhythm and he decided to end the race without taking too many risks. The Italian rider will have the chance to do better in two weeks time in the United States of America for the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, twelfth round of the 2009 MotoGP World Championship.


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Capitalizing on the absence of one Mat Mladin, Team Foremost Ducati’s Larry Pegram claimed pole position for the 2 races this weekend at the Topeka round of the AMA Superbike Championship.

Pegram powered his Ducati 1098R around in a time 2/10ths faster than Aron Yates on the Jordan Suzuki. Jake Holden was 3rd fastest. Can Pegram take another win for Ducati this season?

1 Larry Pegram Pegram Racing Ducati 1098R 1:36.368
2 Aaron Yates Jordan Suzuki Brand Suzuki GSX-R1000 1:36.513
3 Jake Holden Holden Racing Honda CBR1000RR 1:36.540
4 Ben Bostrom Yamaha Motor Corp Yamaha R1 1:36.643
5 Joshua Hayes Yamaha Motor Corp Yamaha R1 1:36.994
6 Michael Laverty Celtic Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000 1:37.126
7 Blake Young Rockstar/Makita/Suzuki Suzuki GSX-R1000 1:37.263
8 Tommy Hayden Rockstar/Makita/Suzuki Suzuki GSX-R1000 1:37.481
9 Neil Hodgson Corona Extra Honda Honda CBR1000RR 1:37.670
10 Geoff May National Guard Jordan Suzuki Suzuki GSX-R1000 No time, crash

Source: Superbike Planet

Ducati UK has just made a customer’s decision to purchase a new Ducati Superbike even easier with a full factory supported maintenance programme for all new Ducati Superbikes purchased from the 1st July until 30th September.

The maintenance programme includes the initial 600 mile service, 1st annual service and if the mileage is reached a 7,500 mile service.

Bikes eligible for the maintenance scheme includes the award winning 848, the stunning 1198, the traction control and Ohlins fitted 1198S through to the ultimate Ducati Superbikes, the 1098R and 1098R Bayliss Replica.

To be eligible for the scheme, bikes must be new, unregistered and purchased from an authorised dealer.

Ducati is also pleased to announce a new promotion to encourage potential Hypermotard owners. Any customer purchasing a new Hypermotard or Hypermotard S between the 1st July and 30th September will receive a free set of Termignoni slip-on carbon exhausts. Termignoni exhausts are a key feature of the DNA of every Ducati Motorcycle providing the distinctive ‘Desmo’ sound, a must-have accessory for many Ducatisti.

For further information regarding this promotion, visit www.ducatiuk.com

You may be asking yourself, «Why the hell is he wasting time on a page about changing an air filter? How stupid.» Well, believe it or not there are Duc owners out there who are too intimidated to even change the filter. I believe that all Ducati owners should know basic maintenance procedures, if for no other reason than to save on dealership costs. So if you are one such intimidated owner, what better way to boost your confidence and save your money than by showing in excruciating detail how easy it is to change the air filter? Let's get started.


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Hose, Wash Bucket, Wash Mitt, WD-40, Clear-Coat Safe Tar and Bug Remover (optional), Armor-All (optional), Soft Cotton Rags, Chrome Polish (optional), Aluminum Polish, Cleaner Wax (optional), Regular Wax and Wax Applicator Pads.

Detailing your bike is easy- but it takes a while. You can achieve professional results with a little bit of time and attention to detail. Plus, it's practically free!

Step 1:
The first step to any detailing job is a good wash. But, the problem with washing your bike is that there are so many 'no-zones' for water-electricals, brakes, fuel tank, etc. This is what I do: I take a bucket of soapy water and just start lightly coating the paint with it and kind of brushing it down the side so that all the dirt slides off. I avoid all areas that I don't want water, such as the engine, gauges, underseat area, etc. You also don't need to grind the paint with the soapy mitt- the wax will take care of any caked on or stubborn crud. This is just a rinse to get rid of the loose dirt. I also take a plastic baggie and place it over my K&N crankcase breather (not necessary on bikes with emissions equipment still on). Once I've attacked all the painted surfaces, wheels, and tires, I move on to the rinse.

The rinse is even harder because you have less control over the water going everywhere. I use just a little trickle and carefully wash away all the soap residue. Don't spray the water into any crevices or
the exhaust either.

Drying stage one consists of drying off the entire bike with a clean cotton towel. The key when drying is to be gentle- you
don't want to try to buff off stubborn crud with a dry towel — that is what the cleaner wax is for.




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Michel Fabrizio and his Ducati Xerox squad concluded official testing at the international Imola circuit today and the Roman rider again dominated proceedings until the final minutes when Honda man Rea went out on a qualifier, improving on Michel’s fastest time by two tenths of a second. The Ducati Xerox Team are nonetheless extremely satisfied with the amount of work carried out in such extreme weather conditions.


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An example of “made in Italy” excellence will be showcased with pride at the G8 summit to be held in L’Aquila. The Ducati Desmosedici RR, a true icon of Italian technology and design, has been prepared with a special livery by Ducati and the Fiera Milano, a unique, one-off design.


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WD-40, Chain Wax or Chain Lube, Rags, Rear Stand

Lubing the chain is one of the easiest things you can do. It's also one of the most frequent things you need to do. Every 500 or so miles, just follow these steps and your chain will live a long and healthy life.

Step 1
First go for a quick ride to heat the chain up (if you are using chain
wax- if you're not, you don't need to perform this step). Then
continue by getting the bike on a rear stand.

Then slowly turn the wheel (with the bike in neutral, of course) and wipe off all the gunk that's on there.

Then, while rotating the wheel, spray WD-40 all along it to break up the old lube and grease.

hen you can get the tire going at a pretty good clip and wipe all the WD-40 and grease off.

It may take a little bit to get it completely clean, but I'm a perfectionist so it took me about 15 minutes. Don't forget all the surrounding areas!




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Torque Wrench, 21mm socket (or 14mm allen head for later model bikes), 10mm Allen Head Socket, Channel Lock Pliers or a Filter Wrench, Oil, Filter, New Crush Washers.

Step 1
The first step is to get all the necessary equipment and tools. The 21mm and 10mm allen
need to be sockets rather than wrenches because you will need to torque them to the correct setting. A torque wrench is required for all kinds of maintenance, so now is the time to bite the bullet and get one (reasonably priced ones are available at Sears and the like). You will also need about 4 liters of your preferred oil (I use 15w50 semi-synthetic Motul, but if your engine has less than 2,000 miles I would not recommend synthetic because the motor is still in the break-in stage). You also can't forget the oil filter and a crush washer for the oil drain plug and a crush washer for the filter screen bolt. The washers are cheap at 50 cents each, the filter is about $10, and the oil runs me $20.


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