Ducati looking to muscle in on Ferrari's action

by Martin Penner.

ROME (ANSA) - When it comes to snarling, red, Italian-built racing machines, there has for many years been only one name that counts - Ferrari.

But since a 21-year-old Australian began winning MotoGP grand prix races on a scarlet motorbike this year, another name is starting to impress itself on sports fans and connoisseurs of cool.

Riding a Ducati bike that everyone admits is the fastest around, Casey Stoner has won three of the four MotoGP races held so far this season. Ducati now leads both the riders and constructors standings.

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Italian star's dad says motivation will be sky-high in 2007 (ANSA) - Rome, October 30 - Italy's Valentino Rossi will recover quickly from seeing the 2006 MotoGP title slip through his fingers and come back in 2007 more motivated than ever, the Yamaha rider's father said on Monday .

Graziano Rossi, one of his son's biggest fans, admitted that the 27-year-old star was bitterly disappointed after falling on lap five of the Valencia Grand Prix and thus handing the title to American rival Nicky Hayden. But he said the rider, who has won seven world titles already, would benefit from his defeat - an unaccustomed experience witnessed by nearly nine million Italians on television .

"I know my son and his character. Valentino will want to prove himself now. Next year he'll be more motivated than ever." "A defeat could also enrich him," he added .

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Championship to be decided in final race battle with Hayden (ANSA) - Valencia, October 27 - Italian motorcycling ace Valentino Rossi was poised this weekend to clinch his eighth world title in the very last race of the season .

After staging a thrilling comeback in the MotoGP title contest since the summer, the Yamaha rider needs to finish ahead of Honda's Nicky Hayden in Valencia on Sunday to be crowned champion again. "It's really exciting to have the title decided in a single race," said Rossi, who appeared to be oozing confidence .

The 27-year-old star has been champion in motorcycling's top class for the last five years, despite switching from Honda to Yamaha in 2003 .

But in August, with two thirds of the season over, he was 51 points behind Hayden and many fans were wondering whether his reign as MotoGP king was drawing to a close .

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MotoGP ace in 'Fifteen Things I Think Everyone Should Know' (ANSA) - Rome, October 25 - Brad Pitt raves about Italian motorcyclist Valentino Rossi in a magazine list entitled The Fifteen Things I Think Everyone Should Know .

In a cover-photo-flagged piece for the latest edition of US men's mag Esquire, the Hollywood icon calls Rossi "mesmerizing" and "a magician" .

Describing MotoGP as "pure ballet," Pitt says Rossi - now closing on his sixth straight MotoGp title - has "a sort of innate sense of balance that's beyond mortal man" .

"He's like Lance Armstrong on a motorcycle. Just poetry to watch". Motorbikes, green issues, the Jewish Museum in Berlin and parenting are among Pitt's other tips, which include The Ultimate Diaper-Rash Cream .

Rossi wants to win championship on last lap of last race (ANSA) - Estoril, October 13 - This year's MotoGP championship could be decided here on Sunday if Honda's Nicky Hayden wins the Portuguese Grand Prix and reigning champion Valentino Rossi fails to place higher than fifth in the next to last race of the season .

However, the Yamaha rider and current champion is confident that this is not going to happen and he feels his sixth title in a row is clearly within reach .

Speaking ahead of the first practice session for Sunday's race, Rossi said "I think this championship is only going to be decided on the last lap of the last race in Valencia" .

Rossi is currently 12 points behind Hayden in the standings and the Yamaha rider observed that "with two races to go that's not much. Last year here I had big problems with my tires but I still managed to make the podium and picked up 20 points" .

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Yamaha rider says he is totally focused on winning (ANSA) - Motegi, September 25 - Valentino Rossi has his sixth MotoGP title in his sights and from now intends to be totally focused on winning it Thanks to his second place finish at Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix, the Yamaha rider is now only 12 points from standings leader Nicky Hayden with two races left in the season: Portugal and Valencia .

"Twelve points are not much but they're still 12 points and I have to make them up on a couple of difficult tracks," Rossi admitted .

"It's not going to be easy for us but it's not going to be easy for Hayden and Honda either. If I can ride the way I want to, my team and I are potentially superior," the Italian ace observed .

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Yamaha rider shaves another five points off Hayden's lead (ANSA) - Melbourne, September 18 - The first pit stop in MotoGP history probably kept Valentino Rossi from winning his sixth Australian Grand Prix in a row, but his third place finish allowed him to shave a further five points from Nicky Hayden's lead for the championship .

Rossi is now 21 points behind the Honda rider with three races left to go, the first next Sunday at Honda's home track .

The 27-year-old Italian would probably have cut Hayden's lead even more had it not rained and the so-called white flag rule allowing riders to change bikes been applied for the first time .

"I was certainly the fastest when the track was dry and could have won. But that's the way things go. What was important for me was to catch up on some points and in the end I gained five points on Hayden," Rossi said after the race .
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Yamaha champ sees weather as a factor for Australian GP (ANSA) - Phillp Island, September 15 - MotoGP champ Valentino Rossi failed to get up to speed in Friday's practice sessions for the Australian Grand Prix, in part because the cool weather kept his Michelin tires from developing sufficient grip .

"I had to work hard today also because we didn't do any tests here during the winter and the bike and tires have changed since last year," the Yamaha rider said .

"It took a few laps to get the Michelin tires up to the right temperature and the bikes with Bridgestone tires had a clear advantage because they work better on a cold track," Rossi added .

"The condition of the track was a problem for all of us because it has not been raced on for a while and was too clean to offer much grip. Let's hope it gets better tomorrow and, especially, for the race Sunday," the seven-time champion said .

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Yamaha rider confident on race and title chances (ANSA) - Melbourne, September 14 - Riding the momentum from his spectacular victory in Malaysia last Sunday, MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi arrived here for the Australian Grand Prix confident about his chances of winning the race for the sixth year in a row .

He needs a victory here to have any chance of clinching his sixth straight title in motorcycling's premier class .

Rossi's victory in Malaysia put him only 26 points behind the standings leader Nicky Hayden with four races to go, two of them this month .

Winners pick up 25 points per race while runners up get 20 points and third place receives 16 points .

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A British motorcycle will win the MotoGP World Championship for the first time since the glory days of the British bike industry in the 1950s if Formula 1 engine guru Mario Illien (top picture) succeeds in a radical plan to break into the two-wheel world.

Illien, 57, has spoken fully for the first time about his ambition to launch a full two-bike MotoGP team in 2007, backed by an intended €20 million budget, to coincide with the start of the new era of 800cc engines.

"We will react faster and make decisions faster," he said. "We have to be able to compete for the world championship within three years. I am confident that we can do it."

Illien, whose Ilmor engines have won two Formula 1 titles with McLaren-Mercedes and 11 Indianapolis 500 races, was comparing his operation to the Japanese factories that dominate the MotoGP grid. He has a team of 12 people working on the MotoGP project in his factory at Brixworth, Northamptonshire, where the V4 engine is being built. The company employs 60 people at the plant, and a further 52 in the USA.