Ducati works hard to end chassis dispute – MotoGP news
Filippo Preziosi, the MotoGP Ducati Team technical director has said that the team is working day in and out to overcome the problems faced by Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden during the Sepang and Jerez team tests.
Valentino Rossi was not satisfied by the end of the two Sepang tests. Rossi felt lack of confidence in the chassis setup and could not manage to maintain required speed in the corners.
In the second Sepang test, Rossi was facing illness which caused him to lay back for a whole day and cost him the lack of time to test his GP11. Rossi obviously did not seem to be satisfied by the results after the Sepang test, as the team has set a goal
to finish in top-six places which was not achieved. Their gap from the lead was 1.8 seconds. Ducati Team was ranked out of top-ten places throughout the Sepang II test.
The Italian shared that he was able to brake hard by using hard tyres and started with a better pace but still lacked the cornering speed. The team is looking forward to using some different settings with electronics which could remove the problem in a simpler
and efficient way. However, the team lacked the time due to a second absence by Rossi and by the last day, it drizzled and made it much harder to push the practice and try out different things with the GP11. Nicky Hayden was not able to come up with good results
either. Hayden stood below 11 places during the Sepang test.
Preziosi was running three-day test session at Jerez with test rider Franco Battaini, while most of the team was working at the Sepang test in parallel. Battaini tested different chassis settings for better traction.
“We worked through an intense schedule with Franco, completing a series of software tests in close conjunction with the official team in Sepang: based on the feed-back from Valentino and Nicky, we carried the work forward on a parallel course which will
allow us to provide concrete solutions for the next test in Qatar,” said Preziosi.
Ducati Team has continued to work on the different chassis set-up and also gather performance data which will be used in comparison to the recently collected Sepang test data. Malaysia tests did not grant Ducati team with much good results and no consecutive
place ranks.
Preziosi said, “Valentino, Nicky and all the guys at the track were working flat out, and we are doing the same back in the factory. We are confident that by going forward with this same level of commitment, and staying focused on our objectives we will
realize the potential that we know we have.”
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