Not only have Ducati constructed a totally new engine for the MotoGP Desmosedici GP15 but it is believed they have also changed its position, moving it away from the front wheel and adjusting the mount angle so it is in a similar place to the V4 Honda RC213V.
The engine remains a 90° V4 but Ducati have taken all possible steps, says chief Paolo Ciabatti, to rid the bike of its troublesome understeer problems - which even Valentino Rossi could not overcome - by making the whole bike shorter, narrower and tighter.
All previous incarnations of the Desmo have suffered with understeer which have been blamed on the angle and position of the engine - too far forward and having one piston heading towards the front wheel which mess with the weight distribution.
Ducati Corse boss Gigi Dall’Igna has addressed this issue in these two ways but much of the bike is shrouded in secrecy. The exhaust is routed differently around the engine, exiting by the swingarm and under the seat on one side of the fuel tank, and Dall’Igna admits he had endeavoured to reduce the dimensions of everything.
“The bike now is smaller. This is important as we can achieve a new setup which can be better in comparison with the other one, so we work quite hard on the engine to reduce all the dimensions but not only on the engine because we work on all the other small things around the bike,” he said, speaking at the bike’s launch in Italy.
“I think weight distribution was the most important thing, but not only that but the wheelbase you can use. You can change the weight if you have a long bike.
“My feeling is we have improved the acceleration of the bike, not working on the thermodynamic combustion of the engine, but on the rest of the bike. We have changed the behaviour, the characteristics of the bike but we will see what happens in Sepang.”
The bike has only had a one-day shakedown with test rider Michele Pirro at the controls. Ducati will also take the GP14.3 versions of the bike to Sepang in case the bike ends up needing a lot of revisions…
