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MotoGP
MOTOGP: Need For Results Trumps Cleverness
Reality shined an unflattering light on Ducati in 2011 and now the Italian firm is forced to follow the lead of its competitors in order to claw back up to where they belong.
Ducati Team's Valentino Rossi tests Ducati's '12 prototype (Photo: Ducati Corse)
Motorcycle racing can be a humbling game and most of all at the highest levels. The folks at Ducati Corse had a humiliating season indeed, given their high standards and rich racing history. The team signed Valentino Rossi for 2011, only to have Vale and Nicky Hayden shut out of the victory column.
Getting shut out wasn’t the worst of it though. That would be their total lack of competitiveness. The Desmosedici was impossible to ride at the required limit this year. Even the lame duck Suzuki passed Corse in the competitiveness chain during the season. By the end of the year, people were probably more amazed in hindsight that Casey Stoner won races on the thing in 2010 than they were with him cleaning the plate on the way to the 2011 MotoGP world title for Honda.
It came as no surprise that Ducati unveiled a totally new bike (the GP Zero, some have called it) at the post-race Valencia test, one that eschewed the “frameless” design which utilized the carbon fiber airbox as a headstock and the engine as a stressed member. The new bike, referred to as a test bed to start development on a more conventional design for next season’s GP12, was put through the paces at Valencia and then Jerez in November.
Some important motorcycle racing principles were borne out once again in the process, the most important of which is the following: the rules determine the design, so you can’t fall in love with your own cleverness.
Ducati's design was sound from the general concept angle and even had things going for it in packaging and getting the engine cooler air. What bit it, however, happened to be the tire and engine rules. The spec Bridgestones were designed for the aluminum-framed bikes. And a rider can only use six engines per year without penalty, so any changes you want to make to the frame are strictly limited when the engine also happens to be the frame.
The others, notably Honda, made a good-sized leap during the offseason so it was a bad year to misfire. The increase in the winning pace exacerbated the constant complaint riders have given about the bike over the years -- front-end feel.
Hard work wasn’t the issue. Ducati and Filippo Preziosi’s team came out with a ton of new bits over the season but none of it worked -- at least not to extent needed. It became clear early on there wasn’t going to be a magic setup or an updated part to close the gap.
Getting shut out wasn’t the worst of it though. That would be their total lack of competitiveness. The Desmosedici was impossible to ride at the required limit this year. Even the lame duck Suzuki passed Corse in the competitiveness chain during the season. By the end of the year, people were probably more amazed in hindsight that Casey Stoner won races on the thing in 2010 than they were with him cleaning the plate on the way to the 2011 MotoGP world title for Honda.
It came as no surprise that Ducati unveiled a totally new bike (the GP Zero, some have called it) at the post-race Valencia test, one that eschewed the “frameless” design which utilized the carbon fiber airbox as a headstock and the engine as a stressed member. The new bike, referred to as a test bed to start development on a more conventional design for next season’s GP12, was put through the paces at Valencia and then Jerez in November.
Some important motorcycle racing principles were borne out once again in the process, the most important of which is the following: the rules determine the design, so you can’t fall in love with your own cleverness.
Ducati's design was sound from the general concept angle and even had things going for it in packaging and getting the engine cooler air. What bit it, however, happened to be the tire and engine rules. The spec Bridgestones were designed for the aluminum-framed bikes. And a rider can only use six engines per year without penalty, so any changes you want to make to the frame are strictly limited when the engine also happens to be the frame.
The others, notably Honda, made a good-sized leap during the offseason so it was a bad year to misfire. The increase in the winning pace exacerbated the constant complaint riders have given about the bike over the years -- front-end feel.
Hard work wasn’t the issue. Ducati and Filippo Preziosi’s team came out with a ton of new bits over the season but none of it worked -- at least not to extent needed. It became clear early on there wasn’t going to be a magic setup or an updated part to close the gap.
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