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Is Ducati Hiding Something?

Each time things seem to work a bit out of the ordinary, the rumor mill starts spinning faster and faster and all sorts of weird questions pop up. The latest such question came last Sunday, after the almost chaotic MotoGP race in the Netherlands, at Assen: is Ducati hiding something?
One of my buddies was pretty convinced that Dovizioso was instructed to ride as hard as he could, but to make sure he lets one rider ahead of him and make it look natural, all because of the restrictions which will be imposed onto the Borgo Panigale machinery in case the red win a race.

A quick round-up of the MotoGP current rules and regulations may be needed for some readers, and long story short, it goes like this. Ducati and Suzuki (who will come back to the grid in 2015) are governed by some sort of mixed rules which pack Open Class aspects with the Factory Option ones. Ducati has no engine freezing and no testing limitations, and this means they can develop the engine whatever way they feel like, and can test as much as they please, at any circuit in the world.

Even more, these two factory teams can load 24 liters of fuel for a race and can choose the soft and medium tires, while enjoying 12 engines per season and their own ECU software. As opposed to that, Factory bikes can only carry 20 liters of fuel, only have 5 engines which are being sealed prior to the FP1 of the first round and have only limited testing options.

Trying to correct all the mess created days before the 2014 season kicked off, Dorna came up with the idea of imposing some sanctions to these “Factory 2” teams. Win a race, get 2 second places or step on the podium three times, and you lose 2 liters in the fuel allowance. Win three times and you also lose the softer tire. Further “sanctions” may also involve reducing the number of engines down to 9. As I said before, Ducati knows that 5 are more than enough and whether being allowed 9 or 12 makes little difference.

It appears like Ducati’s problem is not the engine. Andrea Iannone rode his Desmosedici past 360 km/h (223 mph) in tests at Mugello, and this kind of destroys the competition as far as the outright speed is concerned. However, when it comes to maneuverability and the reliability of the bikes, the GP14 is known for its understeering stubbornness and the problems it can develop under certain circumstances. With so many times the Desmosedici let Cal Crutchlow down this season, one might wonder what’s really going on…

On the other hand, we have Dovi, who seems to be getting along quite well with the actual bike and who is making a steady, but unquestionable progress over his 2013 results. New frame options and tweaking seem to be getting the bike closer and closer to the point where its competitiveness is no longer a matter of luck… and these things also look like the right recipe, at least for him.

Truth be told, the Assen race involved rain and wet conditions are known to help leveling out the big differences between the bikes on the grid, but even so, seeing a Ducati battling for the top positions in a MotoGP race has become such a rare occasion in the last three years that it feels only natural to see eyebrows raising, as well.

Now, if we are to believe Ducati Corse boss Gigi Dall’Igna, there’s not much he can salvage from the GP14 bike. Right from his first days at Ducati, he said that he would build a new bike if the on-track reality demanded it, and recently he confirmed to have started working on an almost completely new machine. After having analyzed a huge amount of data and the workings of the GP14 machine, together with massive input from the 5 riders (Cructhlow, Dovizioso, Iannone, Hernandez, plus test pilot Michele Pirro), Dall’Igna says he believes he found the “cure” for whatever ails Ducati.

Skeptical dudes are not buying the whole story. Without being Ducati fans with thoughts blinded by wishful thinking, they believe Ducati has already found ways to fight back with credible force… but that Borgo Panigale is not willing to show all its tricks this year, as the results in the first half are so bad they may be not worth the effort.

Namely, Ducati is rumored to do its best to make Dovi’s bike as competitive as possible, and test the improvements in race conditions, making it look natural when it’s time to step back a little. This may also involve trying to fend off Lorenzo from the rear wheel of Dovi. The Spaniard has 81 points, 10 fewer than Dovizioso, who is currently 4th in the series, behind Pedrosa and Rossi with 128 points. Catching these two is a rather long shot, even though rumors say Ducati will not try this until they sort things out with the envisioned 22 liters and no softer rear tire.

Paddock rumors also mention that Honda is not exactly happy with the rather stagnant performance of Stefan Bradl and might let him go in 2015. Being a little paranoid, I cannot help remembering the comment from one of our readers, who said that Ducati would only become a real top-class team when a German rider will be aboard one of their bikes. With Audi being the owner of Ducati, it’s not that far-fetched to see the Germans dreaming of MotoGP glory with Ducati.

If Dall’Igna’s new bike will indeed be better than the last three, we can expect to see Audi adding better funding to Ducati’s MotoGP endeavors and possibly becoming an attractive option for other top riders. However, even if Ducati IS hiding something, it will be very hard to do so for too long. Dovi has already bagged two podiums, even though the last one was a wet race (so not counting towards the limit), and we can bet he’s eyeing some more, so Ducati would better be ready for when the clock strikes midnight with their tires.

Frankly, I believe they’re only making a natural progress (after three long years) and have been helped out by rain. As for Dovizioso, he IS a great rider and could definitely give the other guys a run for their money aboard a comparable bike, for sure, but when it comes to scheming and strategies in such sports, one can never be 100% reassured until deals are inked.
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