Ducati to exit MotoGP next year?

[Kneescrubber]

Any thoughts on this being Ducati's last year in MotoGP?

[DogBoy]

Whats up with the thread title? Are you speculating or is some announcement coming?  

[garry]

Not out of the realm of consideration. No one seems capable of putting their bikes on the box (except Stoner). I could see them return to WSBK with a Panigale.

[Kneescrubber]

Whats up with the thread title? Are you speculating or is some announcement coming?  

Purely speculation at this point. But there has been a massive change with the Audi/VW purchase. Ducati doesn't need MotoGP. They've only been doing it for what, 10 years? They were already an established platform for racing way before they got into MotoGP.


Carry on.

[Blunder]

They can go head to head against BMW in WSB.

[R Doug]

They can go head to head against BMW in WSB.

I believe KTM will be in WSB in 2013 if not by 2014 too.  

I would hate to see Ducati exit MotoGP, but WSB is where all the fun is for spectators.  

[DogBoy]

No idea whats going to happen. I still can't figure out why Audi bought Ducati so I can't even begin to guess whether Audi is going to get involved in the racing department or what they might consider to be important.

I'll reiterate my previous posts that the strategy by Honda and Yamaha to price everyone else out MotoGP has worked great so far.  

[falcofred]

After watching last weeks WSB race from Donnington Park, I don't really care about MotoGP anymore.
Those two races from Donnington Park were the best two races of the year for sure. The AMA race at Road Atlanta where after Blake Young crashed, caused the Red Flag, then came from the back of the grid on the restart to win was also a fantastic race, right down to the last corner of the last lap.

That is what racing should be, a race where you don't know who will win until the last lap.

[Rigger]

I sincerely hope that Ducati does not leave MotoGP.  I think the "script" would be lacking a great deal.  I feel the same way with absence of Suzuki and Kawasaki.  The more the merrier!  

[Dave.TX]

From what I understand MotoGP is costing so much more each year that manufacturers don't want to continue sinking millions into it. MotoGP may be self destructing.

[black hills]

From what I understand MotoGP is costing so much more each year that manufacturers don't want to continue sinking millions into it. MotoGP may be self destructing.

this does seem to be the problem... I think Ducati will hang in there ( Audi is big into racing), but who knows?

[Dave.TX]

But like stated by Domenicali at Ducati they don't need to be in racing to continue its success. Maybe they are reading the writing on the wall with MotoGP? I do hope they stay in racing in some form or another and not get out all together. Racing is a good source of inspiration and innovation.

[Blunder]

Ducati needs a sugar daddy to go racing at the top levels. They had it with Marlboro in MotoGP but with the EU suffering one economic crisis after another even tobacco giants are feeling the pinch.

Seems only Honda and Yamaha are big enough to take an interest in MotoGP seriously.

[Bruce Bogtrotter]

I don't think anything big will happen for a couple of years; then, either the CRT experiment will have been strangled in the crib (imagine how big a failure Moto2 bikes would have been if they had to race alongside RSA250s), or Dorna will force through a rev limit or control ECU, at which point at least one if not all of the remaining factories will bail out.

[Mookie]

It's going to have to be a control ecu.  That's all I can see that could limit costs without ruining the "prototype" bits.  I do think the CRTs are interesting, but it's sad to see them out there looking so slow compared to the others.  

[Bruce Bogtrotter]

It's going to have to be a control ecu.  That's all I can see that could limit costs without ruining the "prototype" bits.  I do think the CRTs are interesting, but it's sad to see them out there looking so slow compared to the others.  

Honda and Yamaha are against a control ECU, while Ducati are against rev limits. Will be interesting to see who blinks first.

[garry]

I suspect the CRT experiment will eventually win, and MotoGP will become very highly modified production-based engines in a prototype chassis. Maybe that's the only way to control the costs and make it affordable to put a bike or two on the grid. The racing in Moto2 and Moto3 is certainly entertaining to watch, but you would lose the cutting edge engine design aspect. I think Yamaha would be the only factory prototypes that race the same engine configuration that they sell (I4).

Sometimes I think a series where there are no rules aside from a fuel allotment would be cool. Build anything you want, but you only get X liters of fuel to run a 40 minute (or whatever) race. Costs could spiral out of control, but it would be interesting to see what a no-holds-barred approach to getting around a road course would look like.

[Blunder]

Sometimes I think a series where there are no rules aside from a fuel allotment would be cool. Build anything you want, but you only get X liters of fuel to run a 40 minute (or whatever) race. Costs could spiral out of control, but it would be interesting to see what a no-holds-barred approach to getting around a road course would look like.

It's been done with cars and for a few years it was fun. The old CanAm, or Formula Libre, series the SCCA ran back in the 60s and early 70s was a hoot, then Porsche got serious and made the 917-10 and -30 and everyone else picked up their toys and went home. The series quickly died.

[opmike]

Sometimes I think a series where there are no rules aside from a fuel allotment would be cool. Build anything you want, but you only get X liters of fuel to run a 40 minute (or whatever) race. Costs could spiral out of control, but it would be interesting to see what a no-holds-barred approach to getting around a road course would look like.

It would be an interesting technical exhibition for an annual affair, but it wouldn't work as a full series. It would basically come down to whoever could throw enough time and money at a bike. MotoGP already is trying to rectify this problem and many players have already left.

As much as it may suck, clamping down on the rules is a major factor in keeping racing close right up to the end if you want a race to be more than just a technological showcase.

WSBK, BSB, IOM TT, NW 200, etc is where all the great racing is taking place these days. The novelty of prototypes starts to wear off rapidly when it's the same few players shuffling around the same few positions out front. On a related note, I'm happy that F1 is finally getting some excitement and surprises back into their racing.