2007 Ducati 1098 on 2040-motos

Moto blog

Rossi and Hayden Debut Ducati Desmosedici GP12 at Sepang MotoGP Test

Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden got their first taste of the new Ducati Desmosedici GP12 race bikes at the official MotoGP test at Malaysia’s Sepang circuit. It’s only the first day of the pre-season test, and Ducati spent much of its time trying to establish a base setup for the rest of the three-day test. Rossi logged 43 laps and his best time was 2:02.392, fifth fastest of the test and 0.735 seconds behind leader Jorge Lorenzo of Yamaha.

Press launches - the ugly truth. Part 3

So with an afternoon of sightseeing completed (a rare luxury on most launches) it's back to the hotel for the press conference. These are you usually long winded, tooth pulling affairs with Japanese technicians insisting on speaking their bestest engrish which only serves to elongate the proceedings. Nothing kills a presentation more than reading every word of a powerpoint slide verbatum, even thought the viewers can read exactly the same words (and probably a lot faster).  The Crossrunner presentation was mercifully brief and snappy followed by dinner in the hotel and a reasonably early night as everyone had already been up for twenty hours.

New Delhi Auto Expo 2012 – Motorcycle Manufacturers Draw Battle Lines for World’s Second Largest Market

In past years, the biennial Auto Expo in India slipped under the radar while the industry was focused more on shows such as EICMA in Italy and Intermot in Germany. But with India’s middle class starting to flex its financial muscle while other markets continue to struggle, the New Delhi show is becoming much more prominent, with major OEMs positioning themselves to claim a piece of the India’s 13 million vehicles-a-year market. We’ve already looked at India-produced Royal Enfield’s new Thunderbird 500 and Hero Moto’s hybrid scooter concept which debuted at the Auto Expo, and today we’ll look at what the major international OEMs presented.