VOL. 52 ISSUE 30 JULY 28, 2015 P77
open in lining up the exit of a
slow turn, and you're practically
in the next time zone by the time
you've caught up with just how
fast the F15 picks up speed.
That's thanks to the lightened
crank assembly and other
internals as well as the all-new
Akrapovic exhaust, which, by the
way, doesn't sound as measured
and torquey as all Ducati V-twins
are supposed to. This one has
a metallic, mechanical edge to
it, while still of course mighty
meaty-sounding, full of midrange
grunt that's however delivered
very, very differently than ever
before.
PUNCH ON
So whereas last year's F14's
Superquadro engine had to be
revved hard to go anywhere
fast, with strong usable power
only available above 8500 rpm,
this year's F15 is a very different
plate of Spaghetti Bolognese.
In a tight turn like Variante Alta
or, even more so, the ultra-tight
Variante Bassa chicane in front
of the pits at Imola, which just as
Chaz told me to do I was taking
in first gear on the gearing he
uses for Imola (he gears to use
five speeds only on the twisty
track, but Davide Giugliano
uses just four ratios, indicating
the spread of power and torque
the bike now has), I could let it
run as low as 5000 rpm before
winding on the gas and holding
on tight, very tight, as the rear
Pirelli dug in and the Ducati cata-
pulted forward, though strangely
enough without the front wheel
reaching overly eagerly for the
sky. You can feel it hovering just
above the tarmac in the bottom
two gears accelerating wide
open exiting the turn, but it never
gets out of hand, and Ducati's
AWC (Anti-Wheelie Control)
program is much improved from
last year. But the pickup from
a closed throttle is now literally
awesome, and not a little daunt-
ing until you gradually get used
to it. Phew!
"Last year the biggest problem
we had was to keep up with the
acceleration of the four-cylinder
bikes," says Ernesto Marinelli.
"So our development of the
engine under the new rules has
been focused on this, and with
the lighter crankshaft we were
able to improve that, together
with the other work we did on
the exhaust with Akrapovic,
where they managed to signifi-
cantly improve the bottom end
performance.
"On top power we are now
more or less the same as the
fours, and on the chassis geom-
etry we wanted to try to make
the bike as stable as possible
while also accelerating harder
for the first punch out of the
IF THE 2014
DUCATI
WAS A
PROMISING
NEW GENERATION
DESMO V-TWIN
SUPERBIKE,
COMPLETE WITH
REV-HAPPY
ULTRA SHORT-
STROKE MOTOR,
THIS YEAR'S F15
VERSION IS A
MOTOGP BIKE IN
DRAG.
