MotoGP season is round the corner. Last season we have seen, Ducati struggling & Honda peeping Yamaha last year in Constructors Standings. Stoner won the Championship, with Lorenzo finishing Second. Rossi & Hayden were down in 7th & 8th Position. Ducati struggled the last season (having only two podiums whole season Nicky Hayden in ESP & Rossi in FRA). The current Champion Stoner had won his first title on Ducati in 2007. That time around Ducati was a force to reckon with but it has fizzled out down the years.
Coming to this years bike, Ducati is off the pace by 1-2 sec against the Hondas & Yamahas. Rossi has continued to complain about a persistent understeer problem during testing and at the final test in Jerez last month he was sixth quickest and almost a second off Casey Stoner’s best pace. The engine position is revised and conventional aluminium twin spar frame to cure a vague front-end feel and understeer issue with the GP11 bike.
The 33-year-old has cast doubt on his ability to battle for a podium when the new 1000cc era gets underway under the Losail International Circuit floodlights in Qatar on Sunday night.
Their are reports which says a lack of time to develop the new bike is hurting Rossi and Ducati. Ducati is also laging vital experience with the twin spar chassis concept compared to Japanese counterparts Honda and Yamaha.
Ducati has done an amazing job since the end of 2011. They have built from November to January a completely new bike and they are putting in a lot of efforts.
The problem is Ducati is facing they don’t have time and they don’t have so much experience with the new type of chassis. It is a completely different concept and it is impossible to make one or two chassis and immediately find one that works how you want.
Everybody has been working for ten to twenty years on this system but the problem in this world is you don’t have time to improve. You need a bike that is immediately fast. But they are still in trouble and it doesn’t look like the bike is ready to be at the front
Chassis play an important part but the engine is also. Ducati has put in a lot of effort on the chassis and they need to look at the engine.
It has enough power but maybe they have to consider changing something. Maybe it is not really friendly and too aggressive and this gives a problem to the chassis.
