DUCATI WON THEIR first MotoGP championship just five years after entering the bigbore four-stroke class in 2003. Casey Stoner's 2007 title suggested many more successes to come, but Ducati had to wait for 15 years before adding another MotoGP championship gong to their trophy cabinet.
Why did it take so long?
Ducati did not win the 2007 crown because they built a brilliant motorcycle but because it had a genius rider astride it, a lot of horsepower, and tailormade Bridgestone tyres, particularly its superb front slick. things started going wrong when MotoGP switched to spec tyres in 2009, so Bridgestone had to make one type of tyre to fit every motorcycle and the Desmosedici was very different from the other bikes. things became worse when Stoner left at the end of 2010. it was five-and-a half long years before Ducati even won another MotoGP race.
Only at the end of 2013 did Ducati start digging themselves out of this very deep hole when they stole the brilliant engineer, Gigi Dall’igna, from aprilia. Step by step, Dall’igna fixed the Desmosedici, firstly via a complete re-design, then by chipping away at the bike’s faults while maintaining its strengths.
Dall’igna’s fixes were radical. ‘when your riders arrive 30 seconds behind the winner, you have to take risks; you cannot be conservative,’ he says.
His creativity and bold reading of the rulebook produced all kinds of innovations that changed the face of MotoGP: downforce aero, mass dampers, holeshot devices, shapeshifters, Formula 1-style diffusers, and so on.
however, his final fix was human: honing the skills of Pecco Bagnaia from 2019. Dall’igna knew he needed a youngster he could mould into a perfect Desmosedici rider.
This story is from the January 2023 edition of Bike India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the January 2023 edition of Bike India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Will Ducati Dominate MotoGP In 2024?
Ducati dominated MotoGP in 2023 in toto and, despite new concession rules to help its rivals catch up, it is difficult to see anyone knocking the Italian factory off the top spot in 2024, however hard they try
Royal Enfield Himalayan 450
ABOUT TWO MONTHS AFTER ITS launch, the new Royal Enfield Himalayan won the coveted Indian Motorcycle of the Year (IMOTY) 2024 award.
Royal Enfield Bullet 350
IT HAS BEEN A FEW WEEKS SINCE I started riding the Royal Enfield Bullet 350, one of the latest entrants into our long-term test fleet.
'I prefer to take the risk, even though it may not be a success'
Six-time MotoGP king Marc Márquez tells us, inter alia, why he quit Honda to race an indie-team Ducati in 2024, why the Ducati is MotoGP's best bike, and why he would not wish his recent injuries on anyone
Ricky Brabec Wins Second Dakar Title
Harith Noah becomes the first Indian to win a Dakar Rally class. Hero MotoSports Team Rally become the first Indian team to get on the overall podium and Monster Energy Honda Team gets three riders among the top four of the general classification.
The Ultimate Hypersport Tyre
The all-new Bridgestone Battlax Hypersport S23 builds on the highly acclaimed S22, an all-round sports bike tyre. The S23 is designed to excel on both road and track and in all conditions. Although we tested it on the sun-kissed Kyalami racetrack in South Africa, Bridgestone claim it will be equally at home on normal wet roads we encounter each day in some parts of the world
Timely and Tidy Update
Bajaj revived the name \"Chetak\" after a 15-year gap in 2020 with the launch of the new Chetak in electric avatar. The scooter got a mid-life update for 2024 and we rode it to find out how it feels
Guns Blazing
The Royal Enfield Shotgun 650 is a bobber based on the Super Meteor 650. We had an opportunity to spend some time astride it to explore its capabilities
REVIVAL OF A LEGEND
The Jawa 350 has been revived, this time with a 334-cc motor along with some other changes. We recently got to test the motorcycle in Bhuj to bring you our first impression
Slick Commute
Launched at Hero World 2024, the Xtreme 125R is a sporty commuter that brings the fight to the highly competitive 125-cc segment. We got to experience the motorcycle for a short duration at Hero MotoCorp's test-track at CIT in Jaipur