Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/270748
IN THE WIND P30 DUCATI GOES OPEN! C iting the freedom it gives them to continue to develop the Desmosedici GP14 through- out the season, Ducati made it official last week: Its two factory riders, Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow, will compete in the Open class of the 2014 MotoGP World Championship. "Ducati, after carefully consid- ering the two options, has de- cided that the most suitable one for the current needs of the Bo- logna-based manufacturer is the Open one, which gives the pos- sibility to the race department to continue the development of the bike and the engine through- out the entire season," Ducati's press release reads. Under the Open class rules, the motorcycles must use the Dorna-provided Magneti Marelli ECU package, but they also get to use more fuel and more en- gines throughout the season (24 liters and 12 engines vs. 20 li- ters and five engines) than those running in the Factory class. More importantly for Ducati, en- gine development can continue throughout the season. For the Factory class teams, develop- ment on the engine is frozen for the season. The Open class rid- ers also have the option of an ex- tra Bridgestone tire with a softer compound. Andrea Iannone, who rides for the Pramac Racing Team on a satellite Ducati, will also race in the Open class. "We have carefully studied the new technical regulations and have concluded that the Open option is the most interesting for Ducati, in the current situation," said Luigi Dall'Igna, the general manager of Ducati Corse. "This year we have to keep developing our bikes throughout the sea- son to improve our competitive- ness, and the Factory option ap- pears to be too restrictive for our needs. We are confident that the electronics package provided by Magneti Marelli and Dorna has very good quality and will allow the correct management of all the main functions of the bikes." According to Ducati, they were pleased with feedback both Dovizioso and Crutchlow gave to its engineers at the Sepang test that concluded on Friday. Thus they have met the February 28 deadline for opting into the Open class. Luigi Dall'Igna, the general manager of Ducati Corse, made the announcement last week that Ducati will compete in the Open class of MotoGP this season. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GOLD & GOOSE KAWASAKI TAKES SAN FELIPE 250 T he Monster Energy THR Mo- torsports Kawasaki KX450F team of Ricky Brabec, Shane Esposito and Max Eddy Jr. cap- tured the overall motorcycle vic- tory at the 28th Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 in Baja Califor- nia, Mexico, March 1-2. The trio overcame a battle for over half the race with Colton Udall on the number-1x Honda CRF450X, finishing in 3:53:33 to give Ka- wasaki its first overall motorcycle victory in the race since 1996. Heavy rain forced race offi- cials to pause the race in order to reroute some sections of the course, which included cutting