MotoGP: Stoner owns the weekend

If you haven't seen this weekend's MotoGP race, you owe it to yourself to try and watch it! Not only did Malboro Ducati's Casey Stoner comeback from his sickness and win it all, he did it in style! I don't think I've seen a race this year where someone was sliding the bike through the corners like that and still turned in hot times lap after lap! Exciting racing for sure!

You can catch the highlights and if you're a member, the full race on MotoGP.com

Official highlights are also available on MotoGPs YouTube channel.

Action highlights

Stoner Interview after race.

Carl Cox interview at the race (for you house heads!)

Ducati Hypermotard 796 press wrap-up

Apparently, Ducati had a press invite to the early unveiling of the now-not-a-surprise, Hypermotard 796. A direct quote from motorycle-usa.com's Adam Waheed:

“Before riding the bike today, I presumed that this bike would be

nothing more than an entry-level Ducati machine more adept at

posing in the parking lot than ripping around the streets…how wrong

I was.”

Ducati's email in regards to that quote says there is more info to follow on Motorcycle-usa.com's website, but nothing has shown up as of yet. As soon as it does, i'll post it up!

WSBK: Watch the next round of Superbike.. from you desk!

This could be listed under BIG.

Ducati Xerox is teaming up with Ducati.com to bring live streaming of the Imola Superbike weekend to your computer! From the Xerox Ducati Garage!!!

Check out the link for the deets!

Nitro Nori FTW!

Ducati Hypermotard 796

So, on Ducati's Facebook page, they decided to reveal news about the new Hypermotard 796, AHEAD of the EICMA show! It looks to be a lighter, shorter Hypermotard with hopefully a lighter price-point.

The machine comes on new wheels and a black front beak in comparison to the Hypermotard 1100. Check out the link for more info straight from Ducati's website!

EDIT: I don't think we were supposed to jump the gun and let out the price point yet, as the emails from Ducati said it was confidential, but Ducati Seattle just posted it up on their facebook page, so I'm treating it as fair game! Price for the Hypermotard 796? $9995.

Pretty nice eh? The Hyper is definitely my favorite Ducati and I may have to reconsider my vow to never own one because I'd "kill myself and die smiling" on it... Hmmm.

Moto2: The new-new.

This really isn't Ducati or KTM or MV Agusta-related, but if you're a fan of road-racing you may be interested in this..

FIM, the governing body of MotoGP is replacing the 250cc class with an all-new approach called Moto2. The bikes are all Dunlop-equipped, Honda-engined 600cc 150HP machines which should prove to make for exciting racing. With teams on the same tires and engines, it could really be NASCAR on two wheels... But with right-hand turns!

Keep your eyes peeled for Moto2 in 2010!

MotoGP: Indianapolis on Deck!

The 12th stage of the premier international motorcycle racing theatre known as MotoGP is happening this weekend at Indianapolis for it's second time in as many years. Nicky Hayden, home-favorite, former world-champion and Ducati pilot will be wearing a special one-off Make-A-Wish Foundation helmet which will be auctioned off afterwards to benefit.. Well, Make-A-Wish.

Let's hope he doesn't use the helmet before they auction it off!

Mika Kallio, Hayden's temporary team-mate will be at Indy in his first U.S. race with Casey Stoner still recuperating in the wings. Ducati says that they believe Stoner's recovery will have him back in the saddle by the time the Estoril stage arrives.

Personally, I kinda enjoy having the untested Kallio on the field as it brings a level of excitement and mystery (not to mention anxiousness!).

Make sure you wear your Ducati GP Red this weekend, and if you're like us and can't make it to the MotoGP extravaganza, you can buy your Ducati shirts here at Letko and support from home :)

RedBull Air racer gets grounded via KTM

2008 RedBull AirRace champion and current 2009 points leader Hannes Arch recently took delivery of a KTM 990 Super Duke and apparently its news. Already an owner of an LC4 enduro, the Duke will join his stable of toys alongside his... plane? Allaboutbikes.com has the full monty on whats what; click here to check it out!

For more on Hannes Arch, click here to peruse his site.

Road Racing: Weekend Results

Lots of road racing this weekend with the MotoGP in Brno and an AMA weekend at the Virginia International Raceway.

AMA:

Foremost Ducati rider Larry Pegram had a decent weekend following the last race double-header win in Topeka. He finished fourth behind Bostrom, Hayden and Hayes.

Results:

1. Josh Hayes (Yamaha)
2. Tommy Hayden (Suzuki)
3. Ben Bostrom (Yamaha)
4. Larry Pegram (Ducati)
5. Aaron Yates (Suzuki)
6. Taylor Knapp (Suzuki)
7. Blake Young (Suzuki)
8. Neil Hodgson (Honda)
9. Mat Mladin (Suzuki)
10. Jake Holden (Honda)

MotoGP:

With Casey Stoner out for three races it was up to Nicky Hayden and Stoner replacement Mika Kallio to make up for his absence and hopefully gain some manufacturer's points for Ducati. While the race was really a battle between Yamaha riders Rossi and Lorenzo, Hayden did have an impressive finish after fighting with Edwards for sixth. This week at Brno, the manufacturers are getting rare testing session time which is a bit unfortunate for the Malboro Ducati team as Stoner is on sick leave.

More info is available here and here.

Wanting a race 848? Look no further than to Larry Pegram Racing!

While tooling around on the Formost Ducati rider Larry Pegram's site this morning, I found some toys that might interest you wannabe racers out there. He has two 848s with race engines in them ready for the track! Features include:

• Race bodywork
• Vortex Sprockets and gas cap
• Sato rearsets
• Ohlins ttx shock
• revalved Ohlins forks
• Adjustable ride height
• Quick-remove cases
• Titanium rods and valves
• High compression Wiseco pistons
• Slipper clutch
• Ported heads
• Lightened flywheel
• close-ratio transmission
• race-kit camshafts

All for $25K. If you want more info (You know you do!), check out Pegram Racing!

Letko Track Day well represented

Yesterday at Heartland Park Topeka, The Letko Crew participated in a special track day. Besides someone whom I won't mention dropping our 848 demo during a corner braking miscalculation, it went pretty smooth. Everyone had plenty of chances to ride and we even let folks ride our demos on the course during the lunch break.

There were a good number of Suzukis, Yamahas, even a few KTMs (!!) but we were all very surprised about the number of Ducatis that showed up to ride the course; we hear a lot of our customers present and future talk about not wanting to damage their bikes by taking it out on the track, but after a number of laps, you realize that the track is what Ducati built bikes for. And because there is no traffic, unknown road conditions, etc. you're more likely to wad up your bike on the street anyway.

I was out on the track quite a bit and didn't get very many pictures, but you can view the ones I did take here.

STAR coming to town

Jason Pridmore and his STAR motorcycle school is coming back to Topeka this year (Sept 31 and 1rst). If you're like me and have been dying to learn yourself some sportbike skills, this is the place to go. Jason, former AMA racer and FIM endurance nice guy, is reknown in his teaching ability. So not only do you get the tips you want from a guy who has experience, you also will learn something. Awesomeness!

I've already signed up to become a better rider, and hope to see you at Heartland Park!

You can learn more about Jason, his staff, and the upcoming school by visiting his website.

New bikes in: KTM ADVENTURE 990

I've called everyone I promised to call (Sorry David, your voicemail inbox is full buddy!), so now I'm going to let everyone else know what's what! We just recieved a (apparently super rare) 2009 KTM Adventure in adventure white.

We are trying to carry more, but KTM dual-sports and adventures are very, very hard to get at the moment (blame the rocky trails of Colorado).

If you're interested, don't call. Don't email. Just come down and get it.

New Blog, new way to keep you informed!

We've been wanting to do this for a while... Figured it be a good way to keep those who care abreast of what's going on at Letko, especially if those individuals aren't privvy to Facebook or Twitter.

This is the first post; it's kind of a test of sorts. Expect more. Lots more!

-Keith