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/786372
IN THE WIND P42 DUCATI "LUNCH BOX" MYSTERY STILL A MYSTERY M ystery surrounds the ap- pearance of an underseat "lunch box" on Jorge Lorenzo's new Ducati GP17 at last week's Sepang tests, and speculation abounds as to what new trick chief engineer Gigi Dall'Igna might have up his sleeve in his battle against the Japanese hierarchy. Ex-Aprilia designer Dall'Igna showed his innovative streak with the development of wings over the past two seasons, with early doubting rivals rushing to keep up by the time winglets were banned from 2017 midway through last season. Now the black box, with a hinged lid, under the rear of the seat unit has the same rival en- gineers scratching their heads, wondering just what it is. It could be nothing more than an extra on-board data recording system, crowded out of the usual place in the fairing nose by new in- ternal aerodynamic arrangements to compensate for the loss of wins. Other speculation ranges from a simple ballast weight to damp out chassis harmonics, one of the major causes of chatter problems, to an all-out new ECU making real-time suspension adjustments, for more or less the same reason. If it is the latter, then it is for testing only, since electronic suspension systems have been banned in GP racing since the 1990s. The next chance for spies to determine the truth will be at the second round of tests, three days at Phillip Island starting on Wednesday, February 15. Lorenzo moved up to 10th overall at the first tests at Sepang, four- tenths off Vinales' fastest time. Michael Scott 2017 KAWASAKI WORLDSBK TEAM LAUNCH R eigning World Superbike Champions Kawasaki Racing Team (KRT) unveiled the new ZX-10RR machine and unchanged rider team for the 2017 season in a cer- emony in Barcelona, Spain. Current and two-time World Superbike Champion Jonathan Rea will, once again, be joined by 2013 Champion and team- mate Tom Sykes in the factory team, as he aims to be the first rider in WorldSBK history to seal three straight titles. "After celebrating the championship I have just refocused on testing since then," Rea said. "We have had such a produc- tive off-season and now I am excited for the year to start." Sykes will be hoping for a better season than last year, one where he struggled to match the speed of Rea with the new, 2016 light inertia ZX-10R—a bike far different from the machine he clinched the The mystery "lunch box" on Jorge Lorenzo's Ducati GP17. What could it be?