Nicky ended the first day of testing in 7th place on the time sheets onboard the new GP10.

Nicky Hayden – 7th fastest 2’02.792 (59 laps)

“Overall the day was positive, sure it went quite fast actually and at the end of the day when we were ready to do some more laps the rain came and cut it a little bit short. It would be nice to have the chance to do some more laps. But overall the bike was feeling quite good. We made a couple of little tweaks that helped us but we struggle a lot for edge chatter. There’s not much testing before the start of the season so we’ve got to move fast: day one is in the bag, we have established a good starting point and we go from here”.

Guess what?!? We finally have a GALLERY up-and-running at last! The layout is pretty basic at the moment, and there aren’t many pics, but hopefully I’ll find some time to add to it over the off-season.

Check out Kentucky-Kid.org’s gallery here!

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Ducati Press Photoshoot

The team launch and all the events at Wroom were great we had a good time. I had a buddy from the OWB who went with me.  He’d never been outside the States so he got to see how some of the other parts of the world do things.

A few days they worked us pretty heavy but we also had a few mellow days where we able to do some skiing and have some fun.

The highlight was for sure winning the cart race; I know it was just for fun but we all pretty competitive guys so a win is a win. It was pretty cool being on live TV in Italy and the all the locals on the hill side watching.

Actually the car race were I got second was prob more fun cuz it had jump and after bout the 3rd lap there was car parts and hay bales all over the place, it was too funny!

I’m happy to report my skiing has improved slightly but its I still along way off being ready for any Olympic medals. Anyway I’ve been back at my place in California doing some training with the bro’s, unfortunately the last 2 days all its done has rained. So that has put a hold on some activities but we’ve still been able to get some work done.

Before I go want to thank everybody at Wrooom and the Team because this was the 20th anniversary of the event and they really stepped it up and put on a great week it was a honor to be there.

Also want to keep everyone affected by the earthquake in Haiti in our prayers, that’ is sad situation and my heart goes out to them and their families.

I got a photo shoot for Tissot tomorrow then a red eye to New York (concrete jungle where dreams come true) for Ducati and the bike show…. peace

Click here to watch Nicky blow away the Ferrari drivers in the snow kart race.

The 20th edition of the Wrooom Press Ski Meeting concluded on Friday with two spectacular races on the frozen lake in Madonna di Campiglio.

The first race, in Panda 4×4 cars, was won by Felipe Massa and the Brazilian was joined on the podium by Ducati Marlboro MotoGP stars Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden, with Fernando Alonso crossing the line fourth ahead of Giancarlo Fisichella.

The second was a go-kart race dominated from start to finish by Hayden, who shared the podium champagne with Massa and Stoner, with Alonso unable to make the finish after crashing into the protective barriers.

The exhibition races were enjoyed by a huge crowd, who took the opportunity to show their support for the MotoGP and F1 stars as they went head-to-head in their machines, resplendent in the colours of each individual driver.

With the Wrooom event coming to a close, the Ducati Marlboro Team’s next appointment is a three-day test in preparation for the new season from 3-5 February in Malaysia.

Click here to watch Hayden and Stoner unveil the Desmosedici GP10

There was a packed schedule again on the third day of Wrooom 2010 at Madonna di Campiglio on Wednesday, with Claudio Domenicali coming under the spotlight in a morning press conference. The General Manager of Ducati Motor later joined Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden on the spectacular Patascoss slope to unveil the new Ducati Desmosedici GP10, the Ducati Marlboro Team’s latest weapon in the chase for the MotoGP title, against the dramatic backdrop of the Dolomites – recently added by Unesco to their World Natural Heritage list.

“The main changes to the bike are based on the rule changes, so the major part of the work was done precisely to make it perform better using only six engines for the entire championship,” explained Domenicali. “It’s a very important difference, because we were used to using more-or-less one engine per race, so to switch from 18 engines to six is a very important adjustment. All of the main parts were redesigned – pistons, rods, crankshaft, the basics. It’s an engine with which our main objective was to minimise the loss of power to increase durability.”

Domenicali continued: “The second big news isn’t related to the rules, but to our attempt to make the bike more rideable. This has to do with the firing order. We have a motor that, since the switch to 800cc, utilised a screamer set-up. This has permitted us to have maximum power, which was very important and was probably fundamental with the results that we’ve had in 2007, 2008 and 2009, but at a certain point, we began to wonder whether it could be worthwhile to re-test a way that we’d already followed in the past. The last 1000cc motors that we made in 2005 and 2006 used a big-bang firing order, and this gave us important rideability. We re-tested that way, first trying it on the dyno, then with Vittoriano Guareschi in his previous role as test rider and then with Nicky and Casey.”

“We think we have a bike for 2010 with better traction, and that therefore makes it easier for us to find a good set-up. Another part of the work was dedicated to the chassis. In the pursuit of ease of use, we’ve worked to eliminate the bike’s squatting, which is why the entire rear portion of the bike was redesigned. This bike has a rear structure that carries the rider – which we call the seat support – and that also supports the swingarm. That part was redesigned to have six mounting points instead of four; this makes the bike more rigid in a way and it guarantees better rideability and improved rigidity. With respect to the bike we introduced last year, this bike is also aesthetically different because of the redesigned fairing but we already saw that at Estoril.”

Domenicali then discussed the recent changes to Ducati Marlboro Team management.

“2009 was a year – even from a sporting perspective – that was difficult and complicated. Nicky found things harder than he or we expected but he gave us a great lesson because he never lost his good attitude, he always had a spirit of great optimism and positivity. We were able to put at his disposal a bike that permitted him to obtain results that were in line with his talent. He gave us a podium at Indianapolis and he kept improving the whole season.”

“Casey was very fast from the start, as he always is, and had great potential. Of course what happened at mid-season affected the season, but I believe that everyone – from Casey to us – has described what happened and clarified it so it seems useless for me to continue to give details. The important thing, in my opinion, is that today we have Casey with us, probably in the best health we’ve ever seen him. We have reason for optimism for both riders.”

“There have also been some changes to the management, with Alessandro Cicognoni and Vitto Guareschi coming in, having shown themselves in the team to have competence and perhaps even bring things that were missing. I believe that this important change leaves the company in a solid situation, also because it’s in some way personalised by an incredible talent as Filippo Preziosi, who is the true engine of all our racing activities, and he remains safe, solid, and dedicated. I believe it’s a change in the continuity, if we can define it that way.”

Domenicali continued to add: “Faith is the key word that Ducati are using in looking ahead to 2010, in a variety of aspects. We have a team that certainly makes us think we can approach the Championship with great hope. Nicky and Casey are two riders who don’t need any type of introduction. We have faith in the company, because it has a solid, stable base in the Bonomi family, and it’s a company that has managed 2009 well: the motorcycle market had a big decline in 2009 – the market declined by over 30 percent, a very heavy, difficult amount. But our company managed very well and we dropped ‘only’ 18 percent. In fact, in 2009, we had the largest share that the company has ever enjoyed historically. So also from the economic point of view, the company knew how to control very carefully its costs and manage 2009 well. For example, we didn’t cut or eliminate any development of future models, something that’s fundamental for the future health of the company.”

“We have faith in the Championship, because I see that Carmelo Ezpeleta (CEO, Dorna Sports) – here with us – has come through a truly difficult moment, with great character. He’s always been present in person, and he’s somebody with whom you can have a relationship and a dialogue, so it’s very important for our company to be present in a Championship run in this manner and Carmelo is thanked personally for this.”

“We have faith in our sponsors, because 2009, as I said, has been very difficult and yet we’ve managed to continue good relationships with them. We have a very important main sponsor in Marlboro – obviously our host at this event – which has confirmed our faith. We have other important partners like Telecom, Generali, Enel, Riello ups, that have been with us and grown with us over a long period of time. We also have faith in the media, who are well represented in this sport.”