Nine-times MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi has today taken the wraps off the bike he hopes will being him more success in 2012 than he experienced in 2011.
The new, twin-spar Desmosedici GP12 was unveiled in a special online ceremony at the factory which was watched by some 96,000 people worldwide and attended by Rossi, team-mate Nicky Hayden and Ducati's technical director Filippo Preziosi, who revealed the engine would be in a 90-degree configuration and use the full allowable 1000cc displacement and not a smaller size to help with fuel consumption.
Tech spec:
Engine: Liquid-cooled, 90-degree V-four four-stroke, desmodromic DOHC, four valves per cylinder
Capacity: 1000cc
Maximum power: More than 230hp
Maximum speed: In excess of 330 km/h (205 mph)
Transmission: Ducati Seamless Transmission (DST). Chain final drive
Carburation: Indirect Magneti Marelli electronic injection, four throttle bodies with injectors above butterfly valves
Throttles operated by EVO TCF (Throttle Control & Feedback) system
Fuel: Shell Racing V-Power
Lubricant: Shell Advance Ultra 4
Ignition: Magneti Marelli
Exhaust: Termignoni
Final Drive: D.I.D Chain
Frame: Aluminium
Suspension: Öhlins inverted 48mm fork and Öhlins shock absorber, adjustable for preload, compression and rebound damping
Tyres: Bridgestone 16.5" front and rear
Brakes: Brembo, two 320mm carbon front discs with four-piston callipers. Single stainless steel rear disc with two-piston calliper
Dry weight: 157 kg (346 lbs.)