Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

MotoGP Tech: New Ducati! To allow Ducati to change the flex in the seat and subframe, this small tube under the seat can be adjusted. Once the rider has a "feel" he likes, a new carbon-fiber seat will be made that duplicates that exact position. (Top left) (Bottom left) The new chassis gets a new fuel tonk that has been reshaped to give the riders a better feel when leaned oyer. It also allows an _sier tuckin position. Down in the bottom left comer of the photo you can see a silver tube that's been added to the main chassis; this is one of the remoyable extra tubes that will allow the factory to tune the rigidity of the chassis during winter testing. The chassis is constructed of many more small tubes than the "Supermono on steroids" version that has been used since D ucati rolled out its new 2006 Desmosedici D 16 at jerez in Spain recently, with Loris Capirossi and Sete Gibernau taking the new bike out for a shakedown test in preparation for the big Sepang test at the end of january. The bike looks similar to the 200S edition, but there has been a change of chassis. This Ducati has a new frame. Bayliss Back On Form As the last breeze blew through the sails of the 200S season during end-of-season testing at Qatar, December 4-6, the perceived wisdom of the year in general was under threat. After the four-cylinder machines had dominated for the most part, there were two factory Ducatis moving to the fore in this test a test that proved that Pirelli has also taken a new technical step forward. The best laps were almost three seconds faster than the previous best, partly thanks to great weather and track conditions. The racing line was now the width of a family car, a marked change from when the World Superbike circus first came here for testing in the early part of 2005. Ducati Xerox' Troy Bayliss set the best times in both race and qualifying trim, after three days of testing. Some of his rivals were struck down with stomach complaints, but for Bayliss, the prodigal Ducati son, it was an even more impressive performance than his first outing at Valencia last month. He set a best time of I:58.66 on old-style Pirelli qualifying tires, and a hugely impressive 1:59.13 in full-race format, but on a new generation of Pirelli rubber. "I did a lot of laps, and my wrist stood up well," said Bayliss. "I did a great time on qualifying tires today, but the best thing is the the bike was introduced. This new triangulated "birdcage" construction chassis is both stronger and lighter. Depending on the diameter and positioning of the tubes used in construction, the chassis can be as strong as the current one and 30-percent lighter, or up to 30-percent stronger for the same weight. Though the final design has not yet been decided, Filippo Preziosi, the director of Ducati Corse, noted: "We are trying a modular concept; we can fit many new partS to the bike to change individual things. The frame is a completely new design; it uses the same fixing points, but is optimized to make the right stiffness. We have many small partS the rider can change during testing. The idea is to find the best combination and then freeze the design for the racing year. We need to get the bike to feel right for the rider. We have, for improvement made by the Pirelli race tires since the start of the year. I did a full race simulation, with lots of laps in the 595, so things are looking good. I love working with the guys in the team; everything went really smoothly, and now I'm looking forward to getting back on the bike again after the Christmas break." Pirelli was particularly impressed with Bayliss' work ethic and feedback, and the fact that he has recent experience of the best Michelin MotoGP tires can't hurt, either. A greatly improved track suriace helped to take the best riders to new heights, as the sun shone on all comers, from Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, Ducati and Petronas. In comparison to Bayliss' I:58.66 on the final day, the best race-qualifying time was 2:01.24, set by Troy Corser and his Alstare Corona Extra Suzuki back in February. Bayliss also did a full race simulation, despite any lingering effects of his comparatively recent forearm operation, and improved on the best 2005 Ducati race time (set by outgoing Ducati rider Regis Laconi) by fully 46 seconds - according to sources from Pirelli. All Bayliss' laps during this simulation were in the 1:59 bracket, making the jump in pace a welcome one for a championship often criticized in the past as being slower than even domestic Superbike racing. Despite being struck down by illness, new 12 JANUARY 4,2006 • CYCLE NEWS (Aboye left) The latest swingann is lighter than the older one, though it looks the some, except for the plate that's been sunk in and welded to it. This photo also shaws that the outrigger supports used by Loris Capirossi until the middle of 2005 have now been thrashed. (Above right) Ducati has been adcIng pieces 10 the __ under the cowflng lor three yean, and now they've had 10 dean it all up. The switch s-r used 10 -*01 the quick-

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