2012 World Superbike

Although rain plagued the first free practice at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah Saturday, Liberty Racing Team Effenbert Ducati's Jakub Smrz pushed his 1198R to a 2:02.138.

The Czech's time may not seem impressive, but it was over two seconds faster than BMW Motorrad's Marco Melandri.

2012 Ducati Team MotoGP Test

Unlike Wednesday's initial wet conditions at the Mugello circuit in Italy for a two-day Ducati Team test, Thursday's weather was perfect, allowing the team to work on the GP12 for the entire day.

When Thursday's second and final day of testing wrapped up, Valentino Rossi completed 76 laps, and Nicky Hayden 81.

2012 Ducati 1199 Wallpaper

For 2012, Ducati offers an entirely new superbike built on a non-trellis style frame, the 1199 Panigale. The Panigale, pronounce "Pan-ee-gah-lee," replaces the 1198 for 2012, and is offered in the standard version, the S (shown above) and the Tricolore.

2012 Ducati Team MotoGP Testing

Following the Ducati Team's best results of 2012 MotoGP at Le Mans over the weekend, Valentino Rossi and teammate Nicky Hayden traveled to the Mugello Circuit in Italy for a two day test, which began Wednesday.

2012 World Superbike Video

At the fifth round of the 2012 World Superbike Championship at Donington Park in the UK, Kawasaki Racing's Tom Sykes took his fourth pole-position of the season.

And Sykes continued his quick performance throughout the double-header, taking his ZX-10R to the podium in both races with a pair of thirds.

2012 Le Mans MotoGP

Round four of the 2012 MotoGP Championship at Le Mans was especially kind to Valentino Rossi fans.

First, at the pre-race press conference for the French GP, the 32-year-old Italian who holds nine world titles reported VR46 is staying around for the next two years, though not specifying if he will remain with Ducati.

2012 French GP Qualifying Results

Throughout the first free practices at Le Mans, Casey Stoner was untouchable, the reigning MotoGP Champion leading all three sessions by over two-tenths of a second.

But qualifying began under wet conditions, making teams scramble for optimal wet setup.

2012 MotoGP

On Thursday, Casey Stoner announced his retirement, and on Friday he was on top of the time sheets.

The Repsol Honda RC213V rider, who has won the past two rounds (Jerez, Estoril), immediately went to work at the first free practice for Le Mans MotoGP, setting the pace with a 1:34.321.

Casey Stoner News

Two-time MotoGP Champion Casey Stoner made a huge announcement Thursday afternoon at the press conference ahead of Le Mans MotoGP - he is retiring.

The Repsol Honda rider of Australia says he will retire following the 2012 MotoGP Championship, and will "go forward with different things."

2012 World Superbike

Just as the American John Hopkins was recovered from breaking his throttle hand at Phillip Island, the FIXI Crescent Suzuki World Superbike rider suffered another crash.

2012 MotoGP

Last year at Le Mans MotoGP, Valentino Rossi finished third, which was his best-ever finish since joining the Ducati Team.

And so far this year, the Rossi/Ducati struggles have continued; Rossi's finishing-record in the first three rounds of 2012 MotoGP is 10th at Qatar, ninth at Jerez and seventh at Estoril.

2012 Ducati Wallpaper

One of the most anticipated motorcycles in Ducati's 2012 lineup, the 1199 Panigale superbike has the highest horsepower-to-weight ratio ever in its class.

The 1199 features Ducati's new Superquadro L-Twin that pushes 195 horsepower, but is contained in a Monocoque chassis that helped shaved 22 pounds on Ducati's 2012 superbike.