Guareschi: “We have high aims for 2011”

The Ducati Team Manager discusses the 2010 campaign with Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden and also previews 2011 in a video feature interview.

Vittoriano Guareschi reviewed his first season as Team Manager of the Ducati factory team in a special post-season interview, which can be viewed in the attached video, discussing the 2010 campaigns of Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden.

“This year has gone well and not so well for us. We suffered at the start, wasting some good opportunities, but in the end we have recovered. We started the season with a GP10 that had an engine that was unprecedented, a big bang version in contrast to the screamer that was used the year before. We had to work on the set-up for Casey and make the bike as familiar for him as possible,” said Guareschi, who continued to review the Australian’s season.

“At the start of the year, and until mid-season, we weren’t able to extract the full potential of the engine. Starting at Aragón we found a set-up that satisfied him fully and then we became main players. If it had been like this from the very start of the year then we would have been amongst those fighting for the title until the end.”

State of Indiana presents Hayden with award

Nicky Hayden earned the Executive Director's Award presented by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI) for his dedication and service to the Indiana Motorcycle Safety and the Awareness campaign.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Senior Vice President Mel Harder accepted the award on Hayden's behalf from ICJI Executive Director T. Neil Moore at the 16th annual Operation Pull Over Awards Banquet on Nov. 19 in Carmel, Ind. The ICJI and Governor's Council on Impaired & Dangerous Driving played host to the banquet.

"I'm honored to receive this award," Hayden said. "It's been great to work with everyone from the ICJI on this project. I know how great riding motorcycles can be when done the right way, and I'm happy to help increase awareness of safety for all riders in Indiana and everywhere."

Ducati Team star Hayden lent his time and talent to endorse safe, sober riding by all motorcyclists across Indiana. He was featured in many radio and television spots warning against drinking and riding and speeding, and promoting motorist awareness and the use of a helmet and other safety gear. Hayden also was featured in the outdoor and print advertising portion of the popular campaign.

Photo's of DUCATI 848 NICKY HAYDEN EDITION

ducati 848 hayden edition

The 848 Testastretta Evoluzione engine becomes the benchmark for the middleweight sportsbike category, benefitting from all the experience accumulated with the larger engine on the 1198. It successfully adopts the same design guidelines and the same compact cylinder and cylinder head layout, but introduces for the first time ever an innovative solution for the crankcase, which has been designed with a further weight reduction for this advanced engine in mind. The overall layout of this engine integrates a series of avant-guard solutions, confirming the close links with the experience of Ducati’s racing department.

The 849cc engine has bore and stroke values of 94mm and 61.2mm respectively, which produce a ratio that is only slightly inferior to the 1098 (1.54 compared with 1.61), while maintaining the highly ‘over-square’ layout typical of racing engines.

Power output is an impressive 134hp (98.5kW) at 10,000 rpm and maximum torque is 71 lb/ft (96Nm) at 8250 rpm. The power and torque values confirm the high performance level of this engine, especially when compared to its predecessor, the Testastretta-engined 749.

The cylinder head has been modified in line with the characteristic bore and stroke of the engine in order to optimize the fluid dynamics of the intake (straight and plunging) and exhaust ducts and combustion chamber. The compression ratio is 12:1.