On May 11th and 12th of this year, Ducati will be offering a unique chance to own some of its racing history. Among some of the bikes being offered for sale by the Bologna factory are two of the most desirable - and perhaps most controversial - of the Italian manufacturer's history: the Ducati Desmosedici GP10 MotoGP bike ridden by Casey Stoner in his final year with the factory; and the Desmosedici GP11 machine which Valentino Rossi started his career with Ducati on at Qatar.
Both bikes on offer were built during the winter testing break before the season they were raced in, took to the track for the first time at Sepang and made their race debut at Qatar. The GP10 raced by Stoner is the machine that he went on to win his home Grand Prix at Phillip Island on, before being retired after Valencia, having racked up a total of 4232 km. Rossi's GP11 would see less track time: the bike being offered is the GP11, the bike Rossi started the season on before abandoning it in favor of the destroked version of the GP12 dubbed the GP11.1 by Ducati Corse. In total, the GP11 ridden by Rossi would clock up 2342km of track time.
As you might expect, the sale of bikes that were raced so recently come with plenty of strings attached. The party lucky enough to purchase the bikes will have to sign a confidentiality agreement before taking delivery of the bikes, and agree not to disclose technical details about the machines. Though the bikes are of a previous generation - and completely different to the GP12 which Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden will be contesting the 2012 MotoGP season with, far beyond just the capacity increase - the technology used is still current enough for it to be of interest to Ducati's competitors. That may explain why it is a GP11 on sale, rather than a GP11.1. The bike Rossi used from Assen onwards was an early version of the bike which Ducati had been planning to race in 2012, with the crankpin moved to reduce swept capacity to below the 800cc limit. Even though the GP12 has been radically redesigned, the internal engine dimensions are likely to have remained the same, and that is not knowledge which Ducati wishes to have become public knowledge.
But the Ducati Desmosedicis are not the only objects of desire to be sold by exclusive auction house RM Auctions at the sale to be held in Monaco. A number of historic bikes from the private Saltarelli Ducati collection is also on offer, including Giancarlo Falappa's 1992 888 World Superbike racer, some early Ducati Cucciolos, the machine that transformed Ducati from an electronics and appliance firm into the legendary motorcycle manufacturer, as well as a host of early desmo singles and twins. You can see the entire catalog on the RM Auction website.
Comments
Would that I were a billionaire
Personally, I would love to get my hands on a 250 Desmo single. Ducati should ressurect that baby for Moto 3. As for the GP 10/11 bikes on offer, Stoner's is no doubt the peach on offer.
Great history and for the fortunate few able to get a piece of the action,revel in it.
The real collectables no doubt remain locked down in the museum. The 2007 Ducati of Stoner. The Raymond Roche Superbike.
The Paul Smart 750 SS.
That's the one that got away. The most valuable Duck on the planet.
100+ bikes
I'm not really sure what to make of this. Ducati appear to be unloading over 100 bikes. Many of which seem rich in heritage. Odd.
On the cynical side
The proposed and anticipated Audi buy out of the factory. Ducati sales have been brilliant world wide for them, but their bottom line is dismal. Someone else will jump on the Stoner/Rossi bandwagon soon viz a viz Ducati GP current,but it won't be me.
Audi wish to take over the company,but are working the purchase price against a balance sheet of accumulated debt. The debt diminishes the purchase price.
Rightly so. Auction off expendable history. Don't Germany own the Parthenon about now?
In reply to On the cynical side by PIT BULL
Debt has value too
Depending on profitability and organizational structure, debt has value as well, and at times can increase the value of a company because it offers deferred tax advantages.
Nonetheless, some strange numbers floating around - Ducati was seeking north of 1 Billion Euros, whilst the current offer seems to be roughly half that - including several hundred million Euros of debt. If this is true - the company is a give-away, and the sale of their historic collection makes more sense in that light. How much longer will the MotoGP effort continue spending 1/10th of the company's total value each season for mediocre results under much more stringent (new) management? This doesn't bode well IMO
Any guesses as to what they'll sale for? whose will go for more?
I can't even guess - anyone have an educated idea about the value or what the reserve is?
In reply to Any guesses as to what they'll sale for? whose will go for more? by sparky
One... meee-leee-on
One... meee-leee-on dollars... boo hu ha ha ha ha ha
I'm not buying till they sort
I'm not buying till they sort out the front end :)
In reply to I'm not buying till they sort by pooch
What the hell.
Okay, I'll take one. But only if there's nothing that says I can't ditch those damn Bridgestones.
Stoner's Bike GP10
Definitely i will go for GP10, from worst bike to winning bike at the end of the 2010 season. Rossi's GP11? nevermind, it will remind you how bad this bike was, even a goat can't ride the carbon fibre frame and don't understand the bike.
In reply to Stoner's Bike GP10 by veronicaisl
But Ago never rode it?
But Ago never rode it?
In reply to But Ago never rode it? by Damo
Don't you mean Ricky
Don't you mean Ricky Carmichael :)
ok
then I take the GP11 ... with good Dunlop GP 211, Im sure I can do better than my old (but so brave ! ) 2000 R6 :)
and Im sure Im beautiful in yellow
In reply to ok by Getbouc
I know of someone who thought
I know of someone who thought similar things..
Very similar things..
Stoner's GP7
Ducati don't have Casey's winning bike from 2007 either. It now resides in Australia.
Comparison time!
Perfect opportunity for someone (rich) to grab both and let a bunch of fast guys loose on them to compare the differences between them.
Who would you want to test them? Has to be someone fast who has recently ridden MotoGP (so won't need much time to acclimatise), and not contracted to a manufacturer so we avoid conflicts of interest. Can't be someone with a Ducati relationship either, for the same reason.
Checa has a Ducati relationship, so a conflict of interest.
Biaggi? That'd be entertaining on a whole bunch of levels, if Aprilia would let him.
Melandri?
Capirossi could work.
Hopper!
Can't think of many others fast enough who have recently ridden a MotoGP bike. Mick Doohan would give an interesting viewpoint, but hasn't ridden at that level recently enough to really test the two. Bayliss ditto, but with added Ducati relationship for a conflict of interest.
Ignoring conflicts of interest, it'd be very interesting to get Lorenzo or Spies on them! I'd love to see what Bautista thought of them too.
In reply to Comparison time! by v2rider
Put Rossi on the 10 and
Put Rossi on the 10 and Stoner on the 11 and let them race.
Conditions of sale
Having seen the conditions of sale, pitting them head-to-head is not a possibility. The contract specifically rules out riding the bikes, and the engines are sealed, so they may not be disassembled and examined either. They are very expensive ornaments for in your front room...
In reply to Conditions of sale by David Emmett
You've just...
summarised all that is wrong with MotoGP.
In reply to Conditions of sale by David Emmett
Very interesting. Exactly how
Very interesting. Exactly how are they proposing to enforce those conditions?
In reply to Very interesting. Exactly how by mangocrazy
Contracts
The contract is not a bill of sale. It is an agreement between two parties, only one part of which involves exchanging money for possession of the motorcycles. It's very clever.
In reply to Very interesting. Exactly how by mangocrazy
They keep the key ;) What a
They keep the key ;)
What a waste of money. Might as well have them stuffed and mounted on the wall.
In reply to Conditions of sale by David Emmett
i'm not surprised that they
i'm not surprised that they wouldn't allow them to go head to head, but it's a real shame the bikes can't be ridden at all.
In reply to Conditions of sale by David Emmett
Seriously?
Did I read this right - the new owner won't be ALLOWED to RIDE their bike?!?
Certainly nowadays 'ownership' seems to mean something else than what I understand by that word....
In reply to Seriously? by ferrix
Agreed!
Is there at least a time limit? You can ride it and pull it apart in say 2020?
Sure its a shame
Maybe with the sealed engines and all,the guts have been removed and replaced with lead as Ballast. Nevermind the high profile 2. There are some great bikes on offer without reserve,constraints and restrictions.
The 2 valve Desmo L twins are the pick of the bunch. The parrallel twins may serve the same space as Laverda Montjuich classic. If you ride bikes,have a buck to blow and want to ride and enjoy the experience over any mountain pass on any given Sunday, my picks would include the 500,600 and 900 SL's.
Back to the high profile 2,the CS and VR GP prototypes.Personally I would prefer to get my hands on the DesmosediciRR up for grabs with the pipe frame.
That is arguably the closest you will get to Capirossi/Stoner's 2006/7 bike transision 990/800 without reserve. And you get to ride it and refine it.
Yes ! I would love to park Stoner's PI GP10 in the front room. However, not being allowed to nurture it,play with it and ride it ?
Well...keep it !!
Sales cure all - for now
Looks like they are bolstering the balance sheet for the sale - hope all the stock go to good homes who are willing to share a glimpse occasionally as agree with comments here re history and heritage.