Australian Motorcycle News — January 03, 2018

UNTIL 2017, THE only time
Ducati ever challenged for
the MotoGP title was with
Casey Stoner on board. In Gigi
Dall’Igna’s fourth year with
the factory, Andrea Dovizioso
fought for the crown right
down to the final race, while
Jorge Lorenzo showed he will
be a title threat in 2018.
Much was made of the fact
that Dovi overshadowed the
superstar signing, but this was
to be expected in Lorenzo’s
first year on a Desmosedici,
after nine years on Yamaha’s
M1. Ducati signed him because
he’s a proven champion and
because his sensitive riding
style would help transform the
Desmosedici from malevolent
motorcycle to a more tractable
track weapon.
“The base of the bike is
good,” says Lorenzo’s crew
chief Cristian Gabbarini. “For
sure we are working in Jorge’s
direction, because what he
says about the bike matches
the comments from Dovizioso
and other riders, so Ducati is
pushing to improve the bike in
that direction.”
Lorenzo’s main weapon has
always been corner speed, so
Gabbarini is trying to make
him faster through the corners,
even though Dovizioso’s style
is to square off the turns.
“The bike is super-stable in

hard braking and in general

has good traction, but we

miss a bit of turning,” says

Gabbarini. “This is the area

where we have to take special

care for Jorge, because with the

Yamaha he would release the

brakes and get on the throttle

early to use a lot of corner

speed, so we must adapt the

bike to this. If we can do that,

I think every Ducati rider will

appreciate it, because a bike

that turns well is a good bike.”

Improving turning

involves the whole motorcycle.

One of the Ducati’s problems

is its super-powerful desmo

engine – it’s aggressive at

very low rpm, which caused

mid-corner problems. But

Gabbarini believes that chassis

improvements can help.

“When the rider gets on the

throttle the engine character

affects that part of the corner.

If the engine is rough and

the rider is still using a lot of

lean angle because he is still

finishing the turn, this is a big

problem. But if you can brake

very well and turn very well,

then you will be in a different

position in the corner and with

less lean angle, so even if the

engine is a bit rough it’s not

such a negative.”

In 2017 Lorenzo was one of

only three riders who voted

against the harder

front, introduced at Mugello.

“Jorge likes to make the bike

flow, so a stiffer front gives him

a harsher feeling,” explains

Gabbarini. “That doesn’t mean

he had less grip or turning, but

his confidence decreased, so

we had to adjust the front end

according to the tyre.”

Part of that adjustment

was Ducati’s radical 2017

aerodynamics. Lorenzo

adopted the aero immediately,

whereas Dovizioso mostly

didn’t, because it increases

drag during turning and

change of direction.

“If the rider’s problem is

lack of front feeling, then

something that pushes the

front down will help. You pay a

price, with less top speed and

other things, but for sure the

new fairing helps Jorge.”

Great red hope

“It’s super-stable

in hard braking

and has good

traction, but

we miss a bit of

turning”

DUCATI

Wins 6

Points 310

Final position 3rd

Gabbarini (above)

analysing the data

with Lorenzo, and

(below) Ducati’s radical

aerodynamics were

introduced in August