VOLUME 57 ISSUE 6 FEBRUARY 11, 2020 P87
as before, with the Ducati Quick
Shift Up/Down gear shift and more
importantly, the Ducati Traction
Control (DTC) new for this year.
The DTC EVO 2 is a predictive
system and senses when a wheel
starts sliding, if it's going to continue
to slide. The DTC EVO 2 interven-
tion is faster than before, but it's
also not as violent, reducing the
torque in a more linear fashion to
maintain as much forward drive as
possible, as smoothly as possible.
(Above) Under
$30K brings
with it a level of
performance on
par with many
supercars 10
times the price.
(Left) Mid-
corner stability
is excellent in
the wet. Now
to take it to
California and
test it in the dry.
The feeling at the twist grip is
divine, and a true indication of just
how good the TC systems really are
these days, not just the Ducati sys-
tem. Coming onto the back straight,
with over 200 horsepower beneath
my loins on a soaking wet track, you
could go from nothing to full throttle
with the bike almost upright (the
DTC EVO 2 is a lean angle-sensitive
system, after all), and the electron-
ics would sort the rest out. There'd
be lights flashing everywhere on the
dash, but you'd be safe.
To do that six or seven years
ago would send me flying so far,
I'd probably not need the Emirates
ticket to get back home.
THE RAIN IN BAHRAIN
The staff at Ducati almost had tears
in their eyes at breakfast. Here we
were, with a Formula One circuit, in
the middle of the Arab desert, and
it was pissing down with rain. If you
could have predicted this, perhaps
