FACTORY DUCATIS IN
LATE ENGINE CHANGE
This wasn't quite the start Ducati
had envisioned to what was sup-
posed to be a glorious 2022. Its
men were outshone by Honda and
Suzuki on the opening day, and that
was before what happened in the
race. What was of extra interest was
the fact that factory riders Pecco
Bagnaia and Jack Miller changed
engine spec before the first race.
The switch to a different motor than
the original '22 spec—described
by Bagnaia as "a mix of last year's
engine and this new year's engine"
tried in testing—was a decision
made by factory management.
What is puzzling is the other GP22s
ridden by Jorge Martin, Johann
Zarco and Luca Marini remain on
the original 2022-spec engine used
through testing.
SUZUKI GREATLY
IMPROVED
Top speeds from Friday's FP2
underlined how Suzuki got more
power out of the GSX-R. Alex Rins
was a surprise fastest, posting
220.7 mph through the speed traps
ahead of Johann Zarco's Pramac
Ducati, Enea Bastianini's Gresini
Ducati and Joan Mir's Suzuki, which
all posted 219.2 mph. "For sure we
improved from the last races of last
year," said Joan Mir. "This plus of
the new engine, which gives you a
couple more tenths, that is really im-
portant. It was not a revolution, but
it was a clear evolution, especially
on the high rpms and we could see
more top speed. Also, we are using
the ride-height device that before
we were not."
MANUFACTURERS
AGAINST RIDE HEIGHT
DEVICES
Yet another Ducati innovation has
caused a stir. The front ride-height
device, viewed in preseason testing
on all Ducati GP22s, could well be
banned from competition in 2023
or 2024. It's believed the class'
other five manufacturers are in
favor of the move. The five manu-
facturers—Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki,
Aprilia, KTM—in the MSMA have put
forward a proposal to be discussed
in the next GP Commission, which
could lead to a ban next year. Marc
Marquez was the most outspoken
rider on the ride height devices. "It's
something that in the future they
must remove," he said. "For the
show, we don't gain anything. Okay,
it's a prototype bike, but for street
bikes, it's not necessary."
Briefly...
VOLUME 59 ISSUE 10 MARCH 8, 2022 P83
Alex Marquez (73) and Miguel Oliveira (88)
both crashed out in separate incidents.
