Ducati Xerox driver Troy Bayliss blazed towards victory lane riding his Ducati 1098 F08 with the radical engine mount in the first race of the 2008 World Superbike Championship this week. The latest F08 machine achieved an outstanding result for the Ducati Xerox team.

According to Ducati Racing News, Bayliss then barely failed to spot on a podium spot on the second race, bagging fourth place just ahead of team-mate Fabrizio. The young gun Michel Fabrizio completed a firm start in the season by marking 18 championship points in Qatar.

“It’s a very good start to the season for the team, exactly what we needed! Overall I’m very happy with the results. In race 1 I didn’t make the greatest start and so it took me a while to make it to the front of the pack. The last eight laps were a bit of a battle against Max but I was finally able to get past him and, although I made a couple of small mistakes, I was pretty comfortable and took the win. I would have loved to take another podium in race 2 but it wasn’t to be and I come away from this round leading the championship by 2 points so I can’t exactly complain. Now I’m ready to move on to Phillip Island where I hope to have another great weekend,” says Troy Bayliss.

“I wasn’t happy with race 1 as although I didn’t have any problems with the bike I wasn’t totally comfortable with my leather suit. I think I could have gone better if it hadn’t been for that issue. Race 2 went much better and although I got a bad start I was able to move up through the field from ninth to fifth place. Anyway, we’ve made a good start and I am seventh in the championship after the first round so that’s a positive start for me and the team I would say,” says Michel Fabrizio.

Jerez de la Frontera marks the highest point of MotoGP’s preparation for the upcoming 2008 season. This is the period when every team formulates their final and crucial adjustments such as the bike’s tires, wheel bearings and every significant component that will affect the team’s performance. 

According to Ducati Racing News, the first MotoGP Official Test started at Jerez de la Frontera in Spain. The first test of three full days of practice transpired in sunny and enjoyable temperatures with the whole allocation of MotoGP teams on track mutually.

Both Casey Stoner and his team-mate Marco Melandri applied qualifying tires during day one. It highly favored the drivers to focus on seeking the most excellent and probable arrangement for the Andalusian circuit which is known to be one of the most tough on the World Championship schedule for both Ducati engineers and Ducati MotoGP Team riders.

"Basically we’ve just been trying to get the bike to work around this circuit. We struggled here last year and it’s been a case of trying to find out why. The Bridgestone tyres work well here but at the moment the bike is not at the best level. We tend to lose grip and I have problems turning into the corners. It is one of the more even circuits so we’ve been working on the chassis balance and we made some big steps late in the day. We’d hoped to do some racing tyre testing today but that had to be put on one side while we worked this thing out and at the end of the day I’m happy with what we’ve achieved,” says Casey Stoner (Ducati MotoGP Team) who was able to come up with with fastest lap of 1’40.651.

"You can definitely feel the extra competition here and you can see that the riders are out there to perform. Having all the riders out there, with the sponsors and the fans looking on, it definitely gives you extra motivation. Our position could be a lot better but at the moment we’re not worried. The forecast for tomorrow doesn’t look good but if it stays fine the plan is to pick up the tyre testing and try some of Bridgestone’s qualifiers out for the shootout in the afternoon. Hopefully when we get up in the morning the bike feels good from the start and allows us to focus on the job,” added Stoner.

“I’m quite satisfied with the work we have done, which was all on race tyres, because I can see that we are making progress. We’re still lacking a little consistency because the pace on new rubber is quite decent but we’re struggling too much when the tyres go off. It’s mainly a problem on the rear, which doesn’t give me great feeling in the middle of the corner, but on the front we’ve found a geometry setting that I think is more well-balanced compared to anything we’ve tried previously in testing. I didn’t use a qualifying tyre because my objective is not to set a single fast lap, or to win the car tomorrow. I’m confident that when we find the pace in race trim it will come automatically on a qualifier too,” says Marco Melandri (Ducati MotoGP Team), fastest lap at 1’41.392.

Last year was detrimental to the auto industry. Detroit’s Big 3 posted sales losses. Add in the rising gasoline prices and the need to respond to global warming issues. Actually, it was a year that most companies detest. But it was extra generous to Ducati.

Yes, the Italian bike manufacturer Ducati Motor Holding SpA posted a profit in 2007 after 3 consecutive annual losses. The much-desired profit is largely attributed to its new higher margin bikes.

The Italian winner of last year’s MotoGP motorcycle world title reported a 2007 net profit on rising sales and cost cuts, and said it is targeting a 15% gain in revenues this year. In a statement, Ducati said Thursday it posted a net profit of 13.3 million euros ($19.43 million) in 2007, swing from a loss of 8.5 million euros in 2006. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) stood at 13.8 percent of revenues, and more than doubled from the previous year to 55 million euros, according to Reuters.

"Our targets for 2008 are ambitious but within reach: a 15% rise in sales, an EBITDA margin of 15% and a positive net financial position," Ducati Chief Financial Officer Enrico D’Onofrio said in the statement.

The maker of high-performance motorbikes owned by renowned actors like Tom Cruise and whose racing bikes are driven by Australian world champion Casey Stoner, said its sales increased 30.5% last year to 397.7 million from 304.8 million euros, with the strongest raise on the United Kingdom market.

According to reports, the Italian motorcycle maker had net debt of 10.8 million euros at the year end, a dive from 54.2 million euros.

Continue growing, Ducati! You don’t need the MSD Pro-billet distributor to keep going. Sure, you know that.

It’s gonna be more than just an endurance test in next year’s Dakar Rally.

Dakar rally, popularly known as “The Dakar,” is an annual off-road endurance race headed by the Amaury Sport Organization (ASO). It will take the challenge of racing through the Chilean deserts down to Argentina and other parts of South America for the first time.

For the past thirty years, the race has been passing through Africa so it is expected that next year will be a new and greater test for highly-spirited and adventurous amateur and professional racers who will participate either in the rally’s bike class or car class.  The Dakar rally unites up to 52 nationalities around the world.  Next year it will feature a 6,000-kilometer of unique stages over a 9,000-kilometer long course.  Just enough distance to test your window motor’s adaptive qualities too.

“It’s good news, one month after the cancellation of the 2008 rally,” said Mitsubishi Motorsport Head Dominique Serieys at news.ph.msn. 

ASO was lured by Argentina and Chile’s sand and crossing navigation terrains that match the exotic African savannahs.

According to Wikipedia, the rally started in 1979 when Thierry Sabine, a racer, found himself lost in the desert only to discover that it was a good location for a regular rally. The Dakar rally originated its name from Dakar, Senegal - one of the first Dakar rally sites.

This year’s Dakar rally, supposedly en route for Hungary to Romania, was cancelled due to threats of terrorist attacks. On December 28, four French tourists were murdered in Mauritania by suspected Al-Qaida members.  ASO deemed that cancellation of the event was the best decision to protect the security of those who will participate in the rally.

Meanwhile, next year’s Dakar Rally is set between January 3 to 18, 2009.  Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, will be the starting point and finish city of the said event.

RED DOG.  For some weird reasons, that is Monster Energy Kawasaki pro racer Timmy Ferry’s nickname.

Last February 3, during the AMPD Mobile AMA Supercross Series held at the famous Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California,  veteran rider Ferry made it to the third season standing next to Yamaha racer Chad Reed and Susuki racer Ivan Tedesco Murrieta, kawasaki.com reports.

“It’s great to be back on the podium. I had a solid start considering I had the 15^th or 16^th gate pick.  I’ve got those crashes behind me and evry time I haven’t crashed I’ve been on the podium so I know my speeds there.  It feels so good to just go out and practice, jump the jumps and race the track.  That is something we haven’t had this year.  Even Phoenix was really hard, slippery tight.  This felt like a real supercross track and I felt at home.  Actually riding and pushing.  Not being able to make a rhythm section, then getting it the next time and making up a lot of time felt good,” Ferry said.