MOTOGP » Pedrosa becomes number two

"Definetely in the top 5"????? dah actually my guess would be top '2'

The race is on again for #2
Aussies Rule

rossi the bench mark? Pray tell for what exactly?? Maybe getting beaten by three kids in two years??? Wonder how many newbies will beat the clown this year????

GO HORHAY

Kids allright, kids on computerbikes

Hail to the Atari generation!

2008 will be interesting year.

I wonder what if the Ducati team will loose championship of 2008 with their mighty, unbeatable machine and rider combination?

Would they keep the racing spirit and compete few more years or pull away "Okay, we won the championship. We know we gonna win the title if we like to do again. Well, we are a small company though..."

So whats rossi on?

I reckon 09 will be more interesting when rossi leaves Yamaha..... should shake up the pack a bit

I think they will participate for a longer period..a. It's in their blood
b. they have a couple of strong sponsors c.It's the best commercial ever Ducati riding at the top, they have never sold so many bikes before. The customers where they aiming at sees that the quality and the performances are capable to beat the Japanese products...

Nabi..Ducati is in MotoGP for the long haul because it makes money from it. What other company can offer a bike for sale at three times the cost of a competitor's offering and have a queue of buyers waiting. Have a look at the attached link and you will see how Ducati has come from the brink of collapse,then through a deal with a US private equity mob who knew nothing more than cutting costs and back to where they are today,a company that builds bikes that customer's normally dream of. More the important last year it's sales revenue grew by almost 50% on the back of it's racing programs. It's a good story. Will not allow link so Google "ducati comeback-portfolio.com".

What other manufacturer at three times the cost.... er HD actually. I would of liked to see Buell develop a serious road race challenger, but I guess thats not really HD's market so whats the point.
Ducati are the Ferarri of motor cycles and their sales are mostly driven by the same history, style and charisma ideals as is HD, Its not about having the best performance necessarily, some just dont understand that and never will.

Marty.I agree as both HD and Ducati play to niche markets and sell bikes based on history and nostalgia and as such can command quite a good margin on their products. The biggest threat to HD and Ducati is if there is a downturn in the global economy because both basically sell expensive toys,to put is bluntly.
I wonder how much payback Honda and to a lesser extent Yamaha get from their MotoGP program? Toyota created a new upmarket brand in Lexus over a decade ago so you would have to wonder if Honda and Yamaha raced under an upmarket brand what the outcome would be. I know Toyota and Honda race in F1 under their name but no one relates F1 to road cars. Just food for thought. Your thoughts?

Lexus steal Merc and BM sales for Toyota and rightly so I guess, you could easily argue they are on par technically. Big difference being in my opinion the German marks over iconic Euro or American names lack that certain charisma/soul that is associated to more these sentimental brands... Its hard to see the Japanese ever making a dent in the Ducati or Harley Davidson enthusiasts mindset. Some things are unchangable you know sort of like some obsessively defensive rossi fans I reckon. -cont-