I actually think ducati and alvaro will find a way around it this year, don’t know how but theyre not exactly known for being static when it comes to developing solutions are they.
Has your elderly friend still have or remember the name and location of the buyer? That might at least help narrow down the search even if the then new owner sold it on to someone else, or get you further down the trail as to where it ended up. The fact that it has not been MOT'd for so long would suggest it is either gathering dust somewhere or has been scrapped. Hopefully not the latter. I spent months searching for the ex Lewis-Collins Harris Magnum Suzuki but ended up at a dead end despite some questionable claims of ownership online by one individual and no tangible proof to go with it. Here is the bike in question.
the Ducati was rev capped because it was seen as slightly ‘underhand’ that the road bike only revved to 16,500rpm on top gear (from memory) so they made them run with a rev limit that matched the real output of the engine. incidentally the same happened to Kawasaki, they released a special RR bike with something going on with the rev limiter and got told the bike wasn’t significantly changed enough so they couldn’t have the revs
The 'rules' at the time, allowed for the race bike to rev 1000rpm over the homologated road bike. In the case of the V4RS, Kawasaki and Honda bleated so much, Dorna caved in. Kawasaki was miffed that JR finally got penalised in an effort to break his dominance. In an attempt to circumvent the rules, Kawasaki tried to homologate another bike but that was quite rightly, got knocked back. The point I've not very well articulated is, if you are going to make a rule for one, it has to apply to everyone. JR's dominance got boring and Dorna failed to respond early enough, AB's 2 wins could have gone the same way but Dorna woke up. If TR wins again on the BMW, as I expect, it's the same situation. Yes, I'm a Ducati and Alvaro fan boy and the double standards gets on my proverbials. It may be old fashioned but I believe competition should be a level playing field and rules applied consistently, just like it is in F1. Oh, hang on a minute, wtf Andy
No. They simply have to stop allowing BMW to stick special, non-checked, non-declared parts on his bike and in his engine. Take away their special privileges, remove the weight nonsense, let them fight it out. Alas Bautista is now past his best, and although still one of the best, not good enough to beat Toprak. It’s his to lose.
Interesting read and thoughts… Headline: WSBK, Ducati's Davide Tardozzi attacks BMW head-on: "nobody knows the technical aspects of Toprak Razgatlioglu's bike" link https://www.paddock-gp.com/en/wsbk-...techniques-de-la-moto-de-toprak-razgatlioglu/
Find that very hard to believe. Check out the oxley/bom podcasts. They’ve got one this week about “squiggly lines” (basically the engine mapping and performance output data etc) they can seemingly get what they need to from other bikes off onboard camera footage if they want to these days. And Ducati have never struggled with modern technology.
Kawasaki (allegedly) did for JR exactly what Tardozzi is accusing BMW of doing for TR, it's nothing new. That absolute drive and need to win is the justification and far out ways any sense of guilt they might feel for bending rules to give them an advantage. Reminds me of the fuss when Jenson won his F1 title, all the abuse and underhand tactics that were used by Ferrari et al to rubbish Ross Brawn. Andy
I don’t think there is ever going to be a fair slant on this convo based off the fact we are on a Ducati forum! However I think what BMW are doing is really what Ducati have always done. Oh, and let’s not get into the price cap, that’s another absolute Farce…. I think though there is a bigger issue with WSBK, and that’s the fact that the electronics are silly, way way more advanced even than MotoGP. The best thing they could do, is put a 220hp cap on WSBK and use the spec electronics that BSB standardised across the world, bringing back wildcards and better more manageable budgets.
Wait, what? Hes not even getting paid?! https://www.crash.net/wsbk/news/106...his-career-aiming-prove-himself-worldsbk-2025 That kind of puts paid to any speculation about his motivation levels once and for all i guess.
I’m sorry, the cynic in me is shouting, what a lot of bollocks. He’s not getting paid because none of the teams would pay him to ride. MGM are taking a huge financial risk on Redding’s previous experience with the Ducati. He’s going to have to do a lot better than just beating Lowes. Andy
Not sure that the rider in a customer team, is the major cost nor do I know why the team is called MGM Bonovo because I thought Bonovo was the BMW element. Ducati are not altruistic with their technical support customer teams and in the past, we know the cost of acquiring ‘the latest kit’ was an arm and a leg. I do not expect MGM to have the best customer bike and I do expect Redding to throw it into the scenery more than once. We have seen time and time again, underfunded customer teams are not competitive, just look at the Petronas Honda and the Puccetti Kawasaki. The jury is out for me but not long to wait …. hoorah. Andy
"With passion and dedication" ....but they can't even update their own website... https://racing-performance.de/
Some more insight into how he’s prepared for this season mid way through this article; https://motomatters.com/index.php/analysis/2025/02/10/portim_o_worldsbk_test_round_up_toprak.html “I decided last year that no matter what I had to lose weight,” said a trimmed down Scott Redding. “I lost 5kg compared to last year when we finished. My back is against the wall and I can’t leave any stone unturned. I didn’t eat for the winter and that’s not healthy. People are worried about me but I don’t give a f***. I want to win and I’ll do anything I can to win.” The commitment from Redding has been matched by his Bonovo team. Switching from being an Official BMW team to an Independent Ducati squad showed their resolve. The German squad, fronted by Michael Galinski, is all-in for 2025 and only interested in being at the front of the field. For Redding it was imperative to be on a Ducati again if he was to have a chance of being competitive. It’s now 89 races since the Englishman finished on the podium. Having finished his first seasons ranked inside the top three of the championship aboard a Ducati the last three years have been nothing short of a disaster for the former BSB champion. A return to the domestic series was an offer on the table for this year but ultimately his ambitions are focused on the world stage. “I asked myself whether I should go back to the BSB,” admitted Redding. “There were a lot of people around me and they said that I wasn't ready to go back and that I’d left that part of my career behind me. If I went back, there would be no way back to the World Championship. They were convinced that I could still win races here. The fire is burning inside me and I also believe that with the right material I can fight for the top three in the championship. “To do that I have to be on a Ducati, that's my machine, otherwise I wouldn't have done this. I knew that if I had this bike, I would be motivated. It was a difficult decision because I won't get paid this year to race. I said I wouldn’t do that because I have a family to support. I could have gone to BSB, earned money there, fought for the title and been happy. But I've never shied away from a challenge. I had to put myself in a situation where I could get through the year. Ultimately, I want to turn things around so that I can get paid again in the future. This is my job.” Redding was as honest as ever about the decision making that led him to 2025. His form over the course of three years on BMW machinery wasn’t nearly good enough. It was clearly a rude awakening for him compared to his first two seasons in WorldSBK. Everything that made the BMW an unsuitable bike for Redding’s style is the opposite on the Ducati. He will be competitive and he can challenge for race wins again. Last year Andrea Iannone and Danilo Petrucci were both able to win races on Independent Ducati’s. That is the target for Redding this year and was all he considered during a long winter of training to be ready for the start of the season. "I’ve hardly eaten anything," explained Scott. "For lunch I had apple juice, vinegar and lemon juice, and I would skip breakfast. I’d run 10 to 15km and then do strength training in the evening. It was hard, but my back was against the wall. I knew that, no matter what, I had to lose weight. To have an opportunity like the one I have now will never come again for me. I have to take advantage of it. I want to win and I will do everything I can to achieve that.”
