Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Briefly... Ducati On The Rise o r the first quarter of 2004, Ducat i Moto r Ho lding re ve nues were up 23.4 percent, including fore x (or up 26.3 percent excl ud ing fore x), accord ing to a release fro m the com pany. The Improve me nt was mainly d ue to a 22. 1 percent Increase in unit sales and a 4 1.2 percent incr eas e of accessories and appare l sales, acco rd ing to Duca t;' Revenues from Ducati mo torcycles for the pe riod increased 22 . 1 percent to 80 m illio n euros and 79 .8 percent of total revenues . Motorcycle-related pro ducts , including F spare parts , te chnical accessor ies and apparel, Increased 23 .S pe rce nt to 18.8 millio n euros ove r the com parable period in the pre vio us year, D ucati says. Unofficial Ducati worldwide regist rations, a measure o f retai l sales, were up I I pe rcent vs. the first qu arte r of last year, in a market growing 3 pe rce nt, according to to rs are positive: unit sales, registrations. work hard to reach ou r targets of sales growth, re tu rn to profitability and ne t debt enthusiasmin the market. and momentum Is improvem ent ." bu ilding, and we look fo rward w ith great excitement to seeing all our fans and frien ds at World Ducati Week, fro m May 17th to Amsoil has announced that it will be the official oil of the AMNChevrolet U.S. Motocross Championship. Amsoil has signed a multiyear agreement w ith the National Promoters Group to sponsor the motocross nationals . "This is a perfect fit for Amsoil," said john Schuldt, Amsoil racing manager. "The sponsorship connects Amsoil Dealers with a grassroots motocross fan base and complements the AmsoiVChaparraVHonda Factory Connection team." For a year of consolidation, and we have to profitability and cash are go ing in the right direct io n. O ur p rod ucts are meeti ng with Separately, the co mp any announce d that Fab rizio Nard i, group financial co ntroller, will assume the ro le of d irect o r of investo r 2 3rd , where we are expecting record att en- dance ." "Th e year started we ll, but we cannot be complacent," said Enrico D'Onofrio, Ducati chie f financial officer. "2004 remains : relations in addition to his current responsi- bilities . He takes over fro m Christopher Spira, w ho will work on other pro jects withi n the group , according to Ducati. more information, visit www.amsoil.com . AGP Racing Sarah Whitmore and Tan ia 's Satehwell vvere the first female riders to race in Thor's new line of women's gear when they did so at Glen Helen in San Bernardino , California, May 7. !he pair finished one-two. "I really like the way it fits," Satchwell said of the new gear. " It's much nicer to ride in than the gear designed for guys. I've been racing since I was seven years old, and this is the most comfortable gear I've ever worn." "Our products are meeting with enthusiasm in the market, and momentum is building..." - Feder ico Minol i Ducati. Regist ra t io ns were up 39 pe rce nt In th e United State s, up 26 perce nt in Italy, up 13 percent in non subsidiary countries a nd up 8 percent in the U.K. Decreases were recorded Organizers for the S turgis Music Festival have announced tha t the AMA w ill be on fest ival ground s at t his year's 81ack Hills Mo torcycle C lassic in Stu rgis to inte ract w ith motorcyclists and discuss its ne w "Just ice for All" cam paign. "We w ant to de velop var ious elements of the motorcycle indust ry fo r t his pro pe rty, and th e AMA was a grea t add it ion to that eq uation ," said Tom Muelle r, busines s de velopme nt d irector fo r Fa hlgrenCham pion, an event-ma rket ing agency. "We' ll have o ther special ince ntives for AMA mem be rs, and we wa nt everyone to stop by and che ck o ut the activity." Th e Sturgis Music Fest ival gro unds are loca ted In the heart o f downtown Sturgis at 2nd and Lazelle Streets, just o ne block o ff Main Street . "We' ll be an nouncing o ur lineu p o f in the Benelux countr ies. do wn 2 percent, in Franc e , down 7 pe rcent, Germany, down 10 percent and in ja pan, down 18 percent . Th e co mp any's net debt at March 3 1, 2004 , w as 12 1.2 million e uros, do wn vs. th e 123.6 millio n eu ro s at the same date a year ear- lier, and up vs. I 17.2 million eu ro s o n December 3 I, 2003. The co mpany's gearing ratio was 76 perc ent at March 3 I, 2003, vs. 79 percent at the sam e dat e a yea r earlier and 74 percent at Dece m be r 3 1, 2003 . "2004 has got o ff to a great sta rt," said Fede rico m usical entertainment in the next few w eeks , along w ith other spe cial promotion s th at ar e de ve loped o n site ," said Muelle r. Industry me rchandisers and afte rm ark e t com panies t hat w ish to display and sell prod ucts o n the Sturgis Mus ic Festival grou nds can call Muelle r at 6 14/2 22-22 10 . Minoli , Ducati chairman and chief executive officer in the press release. "All key ind ica- Chandler To Return At Pikes Do ug Chandler fans w ill have to wa it another week before t he th ree-tim e AMA Supe rb ike Nat ion al C hamp ion retu rns to road raci ng. O riginally slated to take part in the Barbe r Moto rsports ro und of t he AMA Fo rm ula Xtreme Se ries on an HMC Ducat i Milwau kee Racing Du cati 749 R, C handle r 's debut is now expected to hap pen at the Pikes Pea k Inte rnat io nal Raceway rou nd in Colorado , May 2 1-23 . "W e were extremely optim istic in getting our race bike pr epared in time for rou nd four at Barber M otorsports Park, " tea m owner Mi tch H ansen said in a team re lease. "W e are sourcing parts from acro ss the globe like bodyw ork , whee ls, go-fast bits, Ohl ins suspension and Brembo bra ke s and calipers. Because o f 9/1 I, shipp ing has taken longe r than we anticipated ." Simply put , the team wasn't rea dy in time fo r Barber. "We could go to Barber this weekend , but we're no t fully prepared," crew chief Gary Medley said prior to Barber. "I haven't had a cha nce to even dyno the engine." Gentz To Retire From Yamaha Afte r 37 yea rs w ith Yamaha Mot or Corporation , Jim Gen tz , preside nt of Yamaha Motorsports Group, has anno unced his re tire ment, effect ive July I. As M o torsports G roup president , G entz has ove rseen nearly a decade of sales increases and steady market share growth in Yamaha mo torcycle. ATV; snow mobile, generator and accessories business, accord ing to Yamaha. Through Ge ntz 's leadersh ip, Yam aha has de veloped a so lid founda tion for co ntinued success in t he motorsport s industry. "I believe we have a we ll qualified and enthusiastic team at Yamaha to assist during this transition," Gentz said. Com ment ing on hisretireme nt plans. G entz said: "I w ill become an active 'Yamaha test rider ' using all the exciting produ cts w e have had so m uch fun deve lop ing and selling." www.cyclenews .com An t i-d op ing controls were carried ou t at the Austra lian round o f t he World Superbike and World Supersport rounds at Phillip Island on March 28, according to the FIM, and all the tests cam e back clean . Among those tested were Pier-Francesco Ch ili, Troy Corser, Mauro Sanchini; Jurge n van den Goorbergh, Sebastien Charpentier and Alessio Co rrad i. Reno H artey-Da vidson and KRNV News 4 hope to he lp the Reno Sparks Gos pe l Mission again ma ke children hap py th is yea r w ith the second annual Klothes 4 Kids Moto rcycle Run & Bac k to School Clo thing Drive on july 24 . Th e event will start at Reno Harley-Davidson in Reno , Nevada at 9 a.m. Saturday, july 24 , with registration. Th e Run will take ride rs up to Lake Tahoe th ro ugh t he Sierras and end up back at the dealership for a party in the afternoon. The e nt ry fee for the Moto rcycle Run is $15 and include s the party at Reno Har ley-Davidso n follow ing the ride. Th e Reno -Spar ks Gos pe l Mission helps an ave rage o f 3S0 fam ilies a year with back to school clothing fo r kids. For mo re Inform ation , call Reno Harley-D avidso n at 775/329 -2913 . CYCLE NEWS • MAY 26, 2004 7

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