Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1456050
FEATURE I 2022 FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP P90 "When you start to feel the front moving everywhere, the rear is spin- ning at the limit, yourself touching the elbow everywhere, it's difficult to find more," he said. Teammate Franco Morbidelli has struggled to get up to speed in the factory team but is fully recovered from the serious injury to his left knee that plagued him last year. New satellite team RNF MotoGP Racing could be in for a long year, as Andrea Dovizioso has struggled to adapt his riding style to the latest M1, while class rookie Darryn Binder finds his feet aboard a year-old machine. DUCATI Rather than immediately kicking on from a dominant end to 2021, the Ducati men took time to get the all-new GP22 up to speed. Its chas- sis is like its predecessor. Yet as it features a new engine with added horsepower and a revised aerody- namics package, that "is making the bike completely different" according to Jorge Martin (Pramac Ducati), there is the feeling they are still playing catch up. "Are we ready? No, but when are we ever ready? I feel as ready as we can be," said Jack Miller. In Malaysia the factory men complained of a lack of traction, especially during the first touch of the throttle. The following weekend, that issue was remedied, albeit at the cost of some braking stability. A complete base setting is yet to be found. Also of interest were refine- ments to Ducati's ride-height device, which, to trackside observers in Malaysia, lowered the front of the bike on corner exit, as well as the rear. It may well be that a handlebar switch activates a cylinder behind the front fork and acts as a rebound damper, slowing its extension on corner exits, further reducing wheelie. Controversy may be on the horizon; a hot rumor from Indonesia was rival manufacturers could push to have the front ride height device banned. Despite the teething issues, the five GP22s—belonging to factory men Pecco Bagnaia and Miller, Pramac teamsters Jorge Martin and Johann Zarco, as well as Mooney VR46's Luca Marini—were well represented at the front. Considering the speed of Bastianini on a year-old machine, their power in numbers is an ominous prospect for the rest of Pecco Bagnaia leads the Ducati armada as the factory's great white hope for a world title. There will be eight Ducati's on the grid, more than twice that of KTM, Yamaha and Honda.