Friday, 17 June 2011 11:27 by Ernesto Emmi

The odd couple of Ducati mechanics is back, and this time they are joined by a someone a little easier on the eyes.  Her name is Bianca Balti, and she seems to be distracting them from the important work of preparing new parts for Valentino (or so they claim).

"Valentino concentrates better at night," the older mechanic says, attempting to explain his late night exploits to the woman.

It's good to see that Ducati haven't lost their sense of humor during this intense period of work for the GP team.

On a more serious note, here is a comment from a real crew chief, Davide Manfredi, aka Bibo, who leads Nicky Hayden's team:

"My job is to coordinate all the activities, as some of my colleagues are more expert than I am.  Nicky is a good rider and extremely professional.  He always give his best on the bike, and expects us to work as hard as he does, which we always try to do."