Carl Fogarty & Ducati: Q&A

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You’re inextricably linked with Ducati, but what was the first one you ever rode or raced?
The first bike I ever raced on a track was a Ducati, back in the summer of ’83. It was my dad’s bike. He had a Formula 2 600cc thing. I rode that in club races with my orange novice’s jacket on. I did about ten races on it to get rid of my orange jacket.

When did you get back on a Ducati?
The next time I raced a Ducati was in ’92 and that started everything. That was an 888 we bought over the counter from a dealer in the UK. It was the best bike you could buy to go racing with at the time. I’d struggled the year before on the Honda RC30 because it was three years old by that point. The Yamaha and Kawasaki were good bikes [in ’92], but they needed to be converted from road bikes. You bought the Ducati ready to race, so I went for that and the rest is history. I beat a lot the factory bikes on a slower bike as a privateer, I won the World Superbike race at Donington and got a contract to ride for the factory for the ’93 season on their 888.

What involvement did you had with the development of the 916?
I had nothing to do with it until it was wheeled out and given to me to race in 1994. I didn’t get on with it that well at the start. Other guys seem to adapt to it better, even though I was beating them I was never comfortable on the bike. It was too twitchy, I thought I could’ve gone quicker on the 888…

What did you think when you saw the 916 for the first time?
I’d seen it a bit at the factory at the end of ’93 and didn’t think too much of it, because it didn’t have its bodywork on. I saw the single-sided swingarm and remember thinking the tyre was close to the exhaust and it might cause problems. Then when they wheeled it out for me to race at Donington I just thought I’d never seen anything as beautiful in my life. I’ll never forget it. It was almost too nice to ride. It was stunning. It still is. So ahead of its time.

Ducati were very different when you first started riding for them. What was it like?
It was good. It was run by the Castiglioni brothers [who went on to resurrect MV] and there was very much a family feel to it all. It was a bit disorganised, which at the time was frustrating, but looking back I’m glad it was like that. It was funny. It was laidback. I never knew what I was supposed to be doing until an hour before and I’d have to jump on a flight to go testing or something. I felt part of a family that thought the world of me, Michaela and the kids. I didn’t feel any pressure, where at Honda I felt I was back at school, and for someone like me, who doesn’t like to be told what to do, it wasn’t as good. Honda was a lot more professional back then, but Ducati got more professional too.

You seemed one of the toughest characters on the track, was it easy to leave that part of your persona at the track?
I could leave it… Having say that I did bring a lot home with me. Instead of spending time with the family, I’d be off in my own little world thinking about the next race, thinking where I was weak at that track last year. I didn’t enjoy it as much as some other guys seemed to. They enjoyed racing and I didn’t, I only enjoyed winning. I wish I’d enjoyed it more, but people have said to me if I had I might not have won as much. I think they’re probably right. There were big characters like me in racing back then. They weren’t exactly happy, smiley people, they were serious, nasty, aggressive people who wanted to win. You had Scott Russell and John Kocinski, similar people to me. When you get all those guys against each other it gets even worse.

You were forced to retire through injury, was that hard after such a full-on, high-octane life?
It was almost a relief at the time. It wasn’t until a year or two had gone by that I became frustrated that the injury was stopping me racing. I could’ve have three or four years, but I’m still here, still quite healthy, so I’m thankful for how it ended when I think what could’ve happened.

Do you ever ride on the road?
I do, yeah. I had a Ducati Hypermotard, but I just sold it. I loved it. It was great on country roads and great for wheelies, but I shouldn’t be saying that. The Hypermotard suits me, it’s more comfortable. My knee would hurt too much on a superbike now.

I interviewed you in the past and you said you’d been approached for 'I’m a Celebrity'… but you turned it down. Have you changed your mind yet?
No, I couldn’t do any of those things. I’ve been asked to do Wife Swap and the ice dancing one. I just can’t do it. I can’t imagine me skating around in a pink sequined top. Perhaps James Toseland could do it, but I can’t.

Ducati People

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words & pictures Liz Seabrook

There's more to Ducati than hardcore knee draggers and retro obsessiveness. There's also more to Ducati than the perennially successful Monster that has characterised so much of the brand's sales these last few years. With accessibility and reliability catching up with what was always a stylish aesthetic, the Ducati tendency is a broad church these days. We met a fistful.

Sean Goode

In comparison to some of the old boys at the owner’s club Sean is relatively new to bikes. A little over 10 years ago – much to his mother’s disapproval – he was drawn from four wheels to two. Starting out with an Aprillia, Sean had a couple of brief flings with the Japanese, before permanently allying himself with Italy.

Lured by beautiful styling and the exotic persona of Ducati, three years ago he swapped his Aprillia RSVR for his current Sport Classic 996. Unlike his earlier Ducati 749, the Sport Classic is a simple beast, an old Monster engine, no electronic gremlins and a V Twin to make the rider work as hard as the bike.

Fiona Sharman

We surrender to the Monster, it would be a travesty to leave old faithful out. Besides, it’s not every day you see a lady in vintage leathers bombing around Bath on an 1100s without baffles. After growing up in awe of a neighbour’s bike, Fi was onto trail bikes before most kids had even thought about driving.

By all accounts the Monster neatly summarises Italian motor engineering: fast, passionately designed and styled with a penchant for unpredictability. And the noise! “She’s fierce!” laughs Fi as she revs the engines to an audience in Bath’s Royal Crescent. Like mother like daughter.

Duncan Spokes

In a happy twist of fate, Duncan was lead to Ducati after winning a Monster in a competition. Several years later and always with a project on the go, he took to this initially unrecognisable Paso , otherwise known as “the van driver’s choice of Ducati”. With a steady hand and a lot of patience, like a phoenix from a mess of fibreglass he returned this abused Ducati to its original glory.

Designed and built in the late Eighties, the Paso is something of an austerity bike for Ducati. A Ducati-Cagiva mongrel, this full-faring clad tour bike’s numbers are dwindling from a lack of love. Rare beauty or beast? You decide.

Andy Watkins

Not content with his beautiful un-restored Norton International featured a couple of months back, Andy is also the owner of a much sought after Hailwood replica. Still chasing the freedom he discovered tearing around on scooters in the years before, much like Sean, Andy revels in the bloody-mindedness of the V Twin.

To get your hands on one of these today isn’t a cheap option; Andy’s has more than doubled in value in just six years. What do you get for your money? A finely engineered machine, easy servicing and style in spades.

Valentino Rossi & Ducati

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Photography by Richie Hopson

As the nine times MotoGP World Champion, Valentino Rossi is very much the most recognisable face of motorcycle racing. Throughout his 16-year career, the 32-year-old has amassed the sort of fame and fortune that would have seen others hand up their race suits satisfied long ago. But not Rossi it seems. Having won titles with Yamaha and Honda, he made the switch to Ducati in 2011, setting himself a new challenge to take the title with a new bike. But for Rossi, it seems lies a deeper motivation: the simple taste of victory and a love of riding bikes.

What do you love about motorcycle racing?
I get a lot of enjoyment from simply riding bikes, and also the battles you have with other guys when you race. [..] It's hard work, you always have to give more than a hundred percent. Physically, I have to train a lot. When you are younger, it's a lot easier. Season by season, you need more effort and training to stay at the top.

And what keeps you motivated?
For me it's the taste of the victory. It's something different from all the other things. It's like a drug. This is the main reason for me racing. Unfortunately, it's very short lived – only three or four hours. From the next day, you need more. It never stops.

Considering such fierce competition in MotoGP, how are your relationships with other riders?
I have good relationships with the riders who I think are good men, not just good riders. But when we are on the track, we are enemies. There's a strong rivalry because you are always fighting for the same thing. You all have a respect for each other. But sometimes relationships become difficult. Rivalries are always amplified by the media as it's very important for them to have it.

Do you think the younger riders particularly motivated to beat you because of your fame?
The new generation of riders are very strong, like Dani Pedrosa, and Jorge Lorenzo. The results of my career mean that I am a great motivation for them for. When these young people arrive in Moto GP, they want to beat me especially because it's like they are beating the past.

You've always kept the same core team even when you've moved to different racing company. How important is it for you to be around people you know?
It's very important. In the end, motorcycle racing is a team sport. It's the rider who goes on the track but before that moment, there's a great amount of work to do together. It's very important to have people you trust and have good personal relationships with. Also, you've got to want to stay together over the racing weekends so I've had the same team for the last ten years.

How long do you think you can keep on competing?
If you are lucky, you don't have a lot of crashes or get injured, you can ride at the top level for a long time. In the superbike races, there are a lot of old riders who are still very fast like Max Biaggi. I want to carry on fighting for the MotoGP for three or four seasons at least. […] There will arrive one moment when I start to be tired and don't have the same motivation and taste for victory, so that's the time [for me] to stay at home. I also race cars so I may have a future there.

Who are your heroes?
I like football so in the past it was Diego Maradona, [the Brazilan] Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. I also like basketball and the NBA so also Kobe Bryant and Dirk Nowitzki. I like the people who are able to be the number one in their sport, but also stay at the top for a long time. I grew up following supercross and watching Jeremy McGrath win seven championships and a lot with different bikes, so I want to follow him very much.

Ducati: Lightweights!

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Photography by John Isaac / Magneto

Bologna has always been home to one of Italy’s most well known bike brand - Societa Scientifica Radio Brevetti Ducati. The early name is a clue to the company's humble beginnings. In the industry’s infancy Bologna was something of a leader in radio communications. The university produced a certain Sig. Marconi (who invented wireless telegraphy) and in 1922 a young physics student named Adriano Cavalieri Ducati, whilst studying radio communications, developed his own radio transmitters and condensers.

So successful were his products that this earliest incarnation of the Ducati business was soon enjoying spectacular growth. The Ducati factory's first motorised bicycle was a collaboration with a Turinese lawyer & designer Aldo Farinelli. His SIATA motor design was nicknamed the CUCCIOLO or Little Puppy – its build crammed in between the manufacture of everything from cameras, to radio parts and bicycle hubs. The design of this T1, and the T2 that came soon after, included a 48cc single engine and a handmade, super light steel frame.

These little machines proved economic, quick and easily maintained. Fitted to a variety of different cycle frames they sold quickly – perfect practical designs that proved the cheap reliable transport that post war Italians needed. The CUCCIOLO engine was to become the base for Ducati’s first branded motorcycles with new models such as the '48'. In 1950 capacity increased to 60cc & then finally to 65cc. This new 65cc T3 was capable of 200mpg and a top speed of 40mph - and it entered the record books in May 1951 at Monza where a rider averaged a speed of 66kmph over a period of 24 hrs. In the early 1950s meanwhile the Boselli Brothers’ company 'Modial' had been producing winning motorcycles thanks in large part to a young engineer named Fabio Taglioni.

Ducati Meccanica, which had been suffering difficulties as a result of a number of unsuccessful products and financial mismanagement, reached out to Taglioni. In 1954 the young mechanical wizard was tasked with building a motorbikes that could win the Moto Giro Italia & save the company from going under. The 'Taglioni' era was a real new beginning for Ducati as a performance motorbike manufacturer.

His first design for 1955 was the 98cc Gran Sports or 'Marianna' which came with a bevel driven, single overhead cammed engine (like those successfully raced by Norton for some time). The combination of a great engine with a well designed frame proved a winner.The biggest race in Italy at the time was the Moto Giro d'Italia , it was bigger than Grand Prix and as endurance as well as performance were the key winning factors a win meant instant commercial success for the Lightweight Ducatis.The team for the 1955 Giro were all riding the Gran Sports, with Gianni Antoni winning the Moto Giro outright on his Marianna.

The new Gran Sports were soon winning nearly every Italian race, outperforming much bigger machines. A Gran Sports again won the Moto Giro in 1956, this time in a DOHC 125cc version, ridden by Giuliano Maoggi. The Moto Giro has, with the support of Ducati been re-instated as a premier event. If your bike comes with less than 175 cubes of capacity and dates from before 1958, there isn’t a better event in which to compete.
With their low running costs and superb engineering, it’s little wonder that Lightweights have flowered in popularity.

http://www.motogiroditalia.com/