VOLUME ISSUE SEPTEMBER , P103
"Ah, Rennie,
see here? This
is where you
need to stop
being a wimp
and open the
throttle harder!"
Ducati data
engineer Andrea
Lanfranchi
goes through
the Ducati Data
Analyzer with
Rennie.
Ducati says the
new Panigale
is one second
quicker than the
old bike in the
hands of Pecco
Bagnaia. For
the rest of us,
that'll translate
into multiple
seconds per lap.
much has changed in terms
of adjustment—it's all based
on where you are in the cor-
ner, so braking, mid-corner
and acceleration support, as
opposed to compression and
rebound damping. Preload
is still changed in the tradi
-
tional way with a wrench.
Over the day I ratcheted
the preload up two turns on
the rear, one on the front, and
maxed out the braking and
acceleration support, result
-
ing in a dream of a ride. The
Panigale would charge into
corners with the electronic
suspension taking care of
the braking and mid-corner
balance, then, if I was in
the right part of the corner,
I would jam on the throttle
hard and fast and let the
traction, slide and wheelie
control take care of the rest.
It really is like playing a com
-
puter game, albeit one where
there's no respawn feature if
you get it wrong.
Speaking of electronics, at
Vallelunga, where enormous
speed is met with high rpm
downshifts, a curious trait
started happening, where the
exceptional work by Ducati's
engineers regarding the gear
-
box's up and down quick-
shifter really shone through.
Barreling into the second-
gear turn four right-hander,
it became rather difficult
to tell if the Panigale had
gone into the right gear. The
downshift action from the
electronics is that smooth,
sometimes (not all the time)
I couldn't tell if the next cog
has been selected. Several
times I needed to look at the
dash to figure out if I was in
the right gear, which is both
a good thing and a bad thing
because if you rely solely on
engine braking and not the
