The birds might signal the coming of Spring but nothing does a better job
trumpeting the new racing season then the roar of a fresh engine. Over the
snowy Dolomite Mountain range the Ducati Desmosedici GP9 was officially
unveiled today, the first bike to brake the scene for the 2009 MotoGP
season. Alongside the revolutionary carbon fiber bike were riders Casey
Stoner and new comer Nicky Hayden. Test rider Vittoriano Guareschi was also
on hand, the Ducati veteran test rider had a lot to do over the past year to
develop the new bike into a winning package. Even F1's Bernie Ecclestone
jumped at the chance to saddle on the new red machine.
 |
|
The new Ducati Desmosedici GP9. Photo by Ducati Corse.
|
 |
The bike takes a revolutionary approach to the backbone of
any motorcycle. Departing from the race winning steel trellis seen before, the GP9
will use a carbon fiber frame with the engine placed more in line for an
optimal center of gravity. That translates to a very light bike that will
flick from one side to the other with greater ease. Ducati has always been
known for power, now they will be a major threat out in the twisty
sections.
"We won the MotoGP World Championship with the trellis frame so it clearly a
very effective design", said CEO of Ducati Corse, Claudio Domenicali, "but we
have been looking to take another step forward that can help us overcome
some of the problems we've had, specifically with the MotoGP bike. Amongst
the other updates on the GP9 one of the most relevant is an evolution of the
engine management system, with a new combination of airbox and mapping that
should provide a flatter power curve and improve rideability, as well as
improving outright power, which currently remains more or less the same as
last year."
In fact when Ducati's record from the 2008 season is poured over it looks to
have been the bike everyone was out to beat. In fact it was, the only
problem, Valentino Rossi became the rider to beat and he was riding for
Yamaha. Stoner was in the hunt to defend his world title along with
Ducati's but the Australian suffered from a broken wrist as the season wore
on. When the 2008 season came to an end Stoner went in for surgery and had a
few months to rest his wounds. Now the ace is ready for another season to
take back the title from the ever competitive Rossi.
"I'm reasonably happy", answered Stoner when questioned about the recovery
of his left wrist. "I would like to have a little more movement but the
check-up went well yesterday, the bone graft has healed well and that is
very positive. It means I can start to work my hand and arm a little harder
now and start to recover some muscle mass and get in the best possible shape
for the next test. So far I've only ridden the GP9 twice, at Barcelona
during the season and for a day at Valencia in November. It wasn't much but
it was enough to understand that we're not a long way off and that the new
chassis is an improvement. We need to work on improving the set-up and
refining a couple of areas on the bike. Last year we were perhaps a little
too confident and overlooked some of the work we needed to do, leading to a
few highs and lows at the start of the season that end up costing us dear.
In any case, despite a breakdown and two crashes we still won six races and
finished second in the championship, which means we can look forward to next
year really positively."
|
 |
|
Nicky Hayden, Casey Stoner, Livio Suppo and Vittoriano Guareschi with the new Ducati Desmosedici GP9. Photo by Ducati Corse.
|
Starting alongside the 23 year old is the "Kentucky Kid," Hayden. The
American has been looking to get back to the top after winning the
championship in 2006. After the title Hayden's relationship with Honda began
to sour and by last season the writing was on the wall that he and the team
would part ways. With Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo comfortable with Yamaha, Hayden
knew Ducati would be his one good shot at a comeback. At 27, Hayden brings
experience and maturity which is always a good fit with the Italian team.
Stoner and Hayden got along before being teammates so the entire camp should
be happy and in sync as they work to be the dominate team in MotoGP.
"On Sunday I tried on my Ducati leathers for the first time in an official
photo session and I felt very proud," said the former World Champion from
Owensboro, Kentucky. "I know what a huge opportunity I've been given and I'm
very grateful to Ducati, Marlboro and everybody who has shown faith in me in
this new chapter of my career. I was immediately struck by the dedication
and passion that the team is famous for and by how hard everybody is trying
to make me feel comfortable in these new surroundings, as they have done
helping me adapt to the bike and get the most out of it. So far everything
has gone really well.
"Obviously I need to get faster in order to be truly competitive but I
already love the bike. I can't say it's easy to ride, it gets pretty loose
on corner exit sometimes but the engine is powerful and that is important,
especially in a race situation. The chassis is nice and stiff so you get
plenty of feedback and I like the feeling with the front, which is really
stable in the fast corners. So far we have only had two test sessions at
Valencia and Jerez, which are tight and twisty tracks, and I think that at
places like Malaysia and Qatar it will be even better.
"I'm happy to be working with Casey -- we've known each other for a few
years now, you could say we've got similar backgrounds having not come up
through European competition and having started out racing in dirt-track.
We're both competitive and we're going to want to beat one another but we'll
also work together to make a strong team. As far as my expectations for the
season are concerned, I still have a lot of faith in myself and in what I'm
capable of. The first objective is to get back to the same level I was at in
2006, challenging consistently for the podium and trying to start winning
races again."
Stoner also feels lucky to have a teammate he gets along with, "I'm really
happy with the addition of Nicky to the team. He has always been kind to me,
even when I was racing in the smaller classes, and I think we can work well
together. The communication between us is great and I think we can work
together on fixing certain situations and getting the most out of the GP9 so
that we can both be competitive. From my side I also plan to be a little
more aggressive this season and maybe be a bit more decisive in races where
nobody seems to want to take the initiative."
