Ducati Blog

Ducati Marlboro Team Manager and test rider gives the lowdown on the new Desmosedici GP10.

Vittoriano Guareschi

“The bike has many new things, the biggest difference is the engine: the new engine is a big bang, whereas the Ducati engine has been a screamer for the past three years. Another important change is the seat support – this is completely new and is stiffer compared to last year, which is much better for the feeling. It’s possible to understand the rear tyre better. There is a new front fork which is the same brand – Öhlins – but it’s completely new. With this fork it’s possible to push more in the braking. We think this is a good advantage.”

“We have a further important point, which is the swingarm. In this case it is aluminium but we have a choice of carbon fibre. With the swingarm in carbon it is possible to improve the bike in different conditions.”

Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden were both pleased with what they achieved across the two days of testing in Malaysia, despite the weather making Friday difficult.

Casey Stoner

“We are quite happy with the test. Today didn’t start really well because of the rain and the wet track, which set us back a few hours, but when it finally did dry out we were able to make some progress,” Stoner said. “We have definitely improved the set-up of the bike, trying some different things with the swingarm. The lap times are still not where we want them to be and we have to work on taking another couple of tenths off on hard tyres, but to be consistently doing 2’01.9 or 2’02.0 laps is a decent pace.”

“Considering that we are using a different engine to the one we’ve had for the last three years and some other new parts that we still need to get the best out of we certainly can’t be unhappy with where we’re at. There is work to do but we have two more test sessions before the season starts for real. In general I am really pleased with how it’s gone.”

Nicky Hayden

“I am satisfied but I could be happier. These past two days have flown by and the weather hasn’t helped us to make the most of the track time available. Anyway, this morning we got the chance to find a wet setting for the new forks and engine. When we went out in the dry I could feel an instant improvement on yesterday and I set a decent pace but then we didn’t improve further. I would have liked to post a better lap time but just when we put some new tyres in the rain came back. However, it was a very positive test and I can’t wait to get back to work at the next one in a couple of weeks’ time.”

Claudio Domenicali

“2009 was a year – even from a sporting perspective – that was difficult and complicated. Nicky found things harder than he or we expected but he gave us a great lesson because he never lost his good attitude, he always had a spirit of great optimism and positivity. We were able to put at his disposal a bike that permitted him to obtain results that were in line with his talent. He gave us a podium at Indianapolis and he kept improving the whole season.”

“Casey was very fast from the start, as he always is, and had great potential. Of course what happened at mid-season affected the season, but I believe that everyone – from Casey to us – has described what happened and clarified it so it seems useless for me to continue to give details. The important thing, in my opinion, is that today we have Casey with us, probably in the best health we’ve ever seen him. We have reason for optimism for both riders.”

“There have also been some changes to the management, with Alessandro Cicognoni and Vitto Guareschi coming in, having shown themselves in the team to have competence and perhaps even bring things that were missing. I believe that this important change leaves the company in a solid situation, also because it’s in some way personalised by an incredible talent as Filippo Preziosi, who is the true engine of all our racing activities, and he remains safe, solid, and dedicated. I believe it’s a change in the continuity, if we can define it that way.”

“Faith is the key word that Ducati are using in looking ahead to 2010, in a variety of aspects. We have a team that certainly makes us think we can approach the Championship with great hope. Nicky and Casey are two riders who don’t need any type of introduction. We have faith in the company, because it has a solid, stable base in the Bonomi family, and it’s a company that has managed 2009 well: the motorcycle market had a big decline in 2009 – the market declined by over 30 percent, a very heavy, difficult amount. But our company managed very well and we dropped ‘only’ 18 percent. In fact, in 2009, we had the largest share that the company has ever enjoyed historically. So also from the economic point of view, the company knew how to control very carefully its costs and manage 2009 well. For example, we didn’t cut or eliminate any development of future models, something that’s fundamental for the future health of the company.”

“We have faith in the Championship, because I see that Carmelo Ezpeleta (CEO, Dorna Sports) – here with us – has come through a truly difficult moment, with great character. He’s always been present in person, and he’s somebody with whom you can have a relationship and a dialogue, so it’s very important for our company to be present in a Championship run in this manner and Carmelo is thanked personally for this.”

“We have faith in our sponsors, because 2009, as I said, has been very difficult and yet we’ve managed to continue good relationships with them. We have a very important main sponsor in Marlboro – obviously our host at this event – which has confirmed our faith. We have other important partners like Telecom, Generali, Enel, Riello ups, that have been with us and grown with us over a long period of time. We also have faith in the media, who are well represented in this sport.”

Oh boy, things are really starting to get exciting—yesterday (January 13, 2010), Ducati unveiled the GP10 at Wrooom 2010, a yearly festvival held at Madonna di Campiglio. Claudio Domenicali, Ducati Motor’s General Manager, together with Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden presented the bike against the dramatic backdrop of the Dolomites from Patascoss slope.

Claudio Domenicali

“The main changes to the bike are based on the rule changes, so the major part of the work was done precisely to make it perform better using only six engines for the entire championship. It’s a very important difference, because we were used to using more-or-less one engine per race, so to switch from 18 engines to six is a very important adjustment. All of the main parts were redesigned – pistons, rods, crankshaft, the basics. It’s an engine with which our main objective was to minimize the loss of power to increase durability.”

“The second big news isn’t related to the rules, but to our attempt to make the bike more rideable. This has to do with the firing order. We have a motor that, since the switch to 800cc, utilized a screamer set-up. This has permitted us to have maximum power, which was very important and was probably fundamental with the results that we’ve had in 2007, 2008 and 2009, but at a certain point, we began to wonder whether it could be worthwhile to re-test a way that we’d already followed in the past. The last 1000cc motors that we made in 2005 and 2006 used a big-bang firing order, and this gave us important rideability. We re-tested that way, first trying it on the dyno, then with Vittoriano Guareschi in his previous role as test rider and then with Nicky and Casey.”

“We think we have a bike for 2010 with better traction, and that therefore makes it easier for us to find a good set-up. Another part of the work was dedicated to the chassis. In the pursuit of ease of use, we’ve worked to eliminate the bike’s squatting, which is why the entire rear portion of the bike was redesigned. This bike has a rear structure that carries the rider – which we call the seat support – and that also supports the swingarm. That part was redesigned to have six mounting points instead of four; this makes the bike more rigid in a way and it guarantees better rideability and improved rigidity. With respect to the bike we introduced last year, this bike is also aesthetically different because of the redesigned fairing but we already saw that at Estoril.”

In the upcoming 2010 MotoGP season, you will hear and read more about Hector Barbera, who will be riding for the new Aspar Ducati team in 2010. Read more about Hector Barbera below.

Héctor Barberá will make the graduation from the quarter-litre category to MotoGP in 2010, returning to the Aspar structure with which he made his World Championship debut in 2002.

Riding on Ducati machinery in the premier class, Barberá will again be teamed with Jorge Martinez ‘Aspar’ as he enters the next stage in a career that has already spanned eight seasons at the age of just 23.

Barberá made his World Championship debut in Japan at just 15 years old, and after a promising first season he went from strength to strength. In only his second season in the single cylinder category in 2003 Barberá amassed an impressive five podiums; a first GP win at Donington amongst them.

Better was to come in his final year in 125cc in 2004, as second overall was the result of a fine season which produced four wins and a further three podiums, the final race of the season at Valencia a highlight as Barberá won in front of his home crowd.

A move up to the 250cc class followed and after a year of settling in, 2006 delivered a win from pole position in China as Barberá finished seventh overall. He improved by two places in 2007, and in 2008 was a favourite for the title after being given an official Aprilia RSA. However, a crash in a practice session at the Japanese GP ended Barberá’s season early as he sustained fractures in two of the vertebrae in his back.

Returning for the start of the 2009 season, Barberá produced his best ever final classification in the 250cc World Championship in the category’s last ever season.

Victory in the opening race of the season in Qatar started the year in fantastic style for the Spaniard, and an eighth podium of the year in Valencia in the final race – another win on his home track – sealed second place in the 2009 standings.

Barberá began his preparations for his debut season in MotoGP immediately after finishing the 2009 campaign, riding the Desmosedici GP9 at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in the post-season test. Jerez provided the setting a few weeks later as he again took out the 800cc prototype, this time in wet conditions, and his education aboard the machine will continue in the next scheduled MotoGP test in Sepang in February.

MotoGP.com

Casey Stoner is looking forward to the new MotoGP season which starts at Losail in April, and says he feels in better condition than he has done for the past three years.

The Australian’s well documented fitness problems which led to a three-race break in the 2009 World Championship are now well and truly behind him, as he proved with a strong finish to the campaign.

“We had a good start to the season, and midway through when the bike was working flawlessly I started having problems myself,” said Stoner at the Wrooom 2010 event in Madonna di Campiglio. “We saw as many doctors as we could but there were no answers, so everyone started pointing at my head and saying it was a mental problem. I knew better; I’m not going to have a mental breakdown in the middle of the season when everything’s going well. We figured it out over the two-month break and came back strong, and it was nice to come back and get a few good results before the end of the season.”

Stoner has so far enjoyed an uninterrupted early pre-season training programme this time around, and is feeling the benefits.

“I’m feeling better than I have in the last three years,” he said. “My training levels have increased dramatically and my fitness is a lot higher than ever, and it feels easier. We’re really looking forward to this year and are going out to win the Championship. I’m looking forward to this year. It is my first off-season in the past three years where I haven’t had any kind of injury or operation, so it’s been good to train throughout.”

“At the last test in Valencia we tried the new engine configuration, and really loved it. We had lots more traction and were able to do more with the bike. We think that’ll help us on the track and make the bike more balanced throughout the season. We still have a lot of things to test before the first race, but we’re confident we can take the fight a little further along the season.”

With a clear target of a second World Championship title, Stoner sees reigning MotoGP Champion Valentino Rossi as the main obstacle to his goal.

“Obviously Valentino’s the one to beat, he’s won the Championship the last two years in a row now,” said Stoner, who was the last rider before Rossi to take the title when he won it in 2007. “I think was a big achievement for us last year to be within striking distance of Jorge in the last race (of 2009), and unfortunately not even start it. Both riders have their strong points. Sometimes Valentino can be very fast in a weekend and struggle in the race a little bit. Other times you think he’s struggling and in the race he will do very well. Jorge is sometimes a little easier to understand. When things aren’t going well for him throughout a weekend it normally doesn’t improve for the race. He’s often very strong throughout the weekend and that continues into the race. They’re both very different and that’s how you have to approach them.”

Hello and Happy 2010 everyone! For our first post of the year, we relive a classic—a Ducati most modern Ducatistis probably haven’t heard of—The Ducati Paso.

About the Paso

The Ducati Paso was released in 1986. It was named “Paso” in honor of Renzo Pazolino—a MotoGP rider who died in an accident in 1973 at the Monza race track. The challenge back then was to build a bike that was innovative and technical enough to battle with the Japanese imports. Ducati hired Massimo Tamburini (Bimota, Ducati 916, MV Agusta F4), who streamlined the the bike in a tight-fitting fairing that covered all mechanical parts. It was equipped with a chromoly square frame chassis, progressive aluminum swingarm, 16″ wheels, and air-and-oil cooled engine with electronic ignition.

The first prototype was the Paso 750 which had a 750cc motor. It was debuted at the 1985 Milan Motorcycle Show. The Paso 750 produced 72.5 bhp and reached a top speed of 210 km/h.

Paso 906

The Paso 906 replaced the 750 in 1989. It had a 6-speed gearbox, a 904 cc engine and produced 88 bhp and a 220 km/h top speed. It also featured liquid cooling, which was a great development back then. The Paso 906 was built between 1988 and 1989; less than 2,000 units were produced.

In 1990, Ducati released the 907IE (electronic fuel injection) which supposedly replaced the 906 Paso. It did not however carry the “Paso” name.

Click here for some Ducati Paso videos.

Some photos of the 906 Paso

Ducati Marlboro completed their test at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit on Wednesday with Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden having made good progress on their Desmosedici prototypes.

Both were pleased with the changes made to their machines by Filippo Preziosi, with Stoner’s best lap of 1’31.900 the fastest of all riders across the three days, as he tested a new engine configuration.

Casey Stoner

“We were able to understand the bike a little better today and the fantastic weather conditions certainly helped. It was a pleasant surprise when we got up this morning and it allowed us to work well. I’m satisfied with this three-day test and with the new characteristics of the bike, in particular the extra traction in corner exit. It is still difficult to figure out exactly the best time to open the throttle, but we’re getting there and it is a case of more practice and improving the set-up.”

Hayden, whose 1’32.805 was the third quickest lap of the final day, was also content with what had been achieved.

Nicky Hayden

“We worked on confirming a few things today and I think we found what we were looking for. I like the changes we’ve introduced to the bike; the power delivery is definitely more progressive although we still need to find the ideal setting for it. I’m happy—I think we’re on the right track and have had three important days here that should help us make a lot of progress in the next test, and close the gap to the front guys down even more.”

MotoGP.com

Hat-trick for Australian Ducati rider

Casey Stoner won for the third successive year at Phillip Island, with championship leader Valentino Rossi finishing second as Jorge Lorenzo crashed out on turn one at the Iveco Australian Grand Prix.

Casey Stoner’s dominance of his home circuit continued on Sunday as the Australian won at Phillip Island for the third year in a row, leading Valentino Rossi over the finish line by a margin of 1.935s.

In his second Grand Prix back after a three-race absence, the 24 year-old celebrated his birthday weekend with an impressive win from pole position, his third race victory of the season, which took him to third in the championship standings.

The steady progress and solid performances of MotoGP rookie Mika Kallio have earned him another season in the premier class with his current employers Pramac Racing, who have confirmed that he will ride for them again in 2010.

Returning to the team this weekend at the bwin.com Grande Premio de Portugal, after standing in for three rounds in the factory Ducati team as a replacement for Casey Stoner, Kallio now goes into the final four races of the 2009 World Championship totally focused on the job at hand.

Mika Kallio

“Now that we have agreed for next season we can exclusively concentrate on our work on track. I am very happy to be able to continue with the Pramac Racing Team, with Paolo Campinoti and with Ducati. This season is going in a positive direction. We have had some highs and lows, but considering that it is my rookie season, that’s normal. We trust in our ability improve next year.”

Paolo Campinoti, Pramac Racing’s Team Principal

“We are very happy to agree this deal with Mika and to continue to work together next season. This year, in his MotoGP debut campaign, he has produced positive performances and we believe we can improve next year. We believe in his riding abilities and we are proud to be able to continue this project together.”