Ducati GP10

Thursday, December 24th, 2009

It appears that Nicky Haden has done a nice little bit of snooping for the rest of us after posting this shot of what appears to be the new Ducati GP10 on his website.

The Ducati isn’t supposed to be revealed to the world for quite some time, and whilst no details where available, it does seem to be a bit of a gaff by the MotoGP star.

We’re not sure how much to take from the photo, other than it looks mighty uncomfortable on that seat, and there’s a large whole, sorry ‘vent’, in the side. Also the front looks to be going back to some old school Ducati styling. And possibly most obvious of all, it’s orange!

It will be interesting to see how much, if anything, will change.

What we do now know about the GP10 is the following:

Engine:	liquid-cooled, 90 degree V4 four-stroke, desmodromic DOHC, our valves per cylinder.
Capacity:	799cc
Maximum power:	more than 200hp
Maximum speed:	in excess of 310 kph/192 mph
Transmission:	Six-speed cassette-type gearbox, with alternative gear ratios available. Dry multiplate slipper clutch. Chain final drive.
Carburation:	Indirect Magneti Marelli electronic injection, four throttle bodies with injectors above butterfly valves. Throttles operated by EVO TCF (Throttle Control & Feedback) system.
Fuel:	Shell Racing V-Power
Lubricant:	Shell Advance Ultra 4
Ignition:	Magneti Marelli
Exhaust:	Termignoni
Final Drive	Regina Chain
Suspension:	Öhlins upside-down 48mm front forks and Öhlins rear shock absorber, adjustable for preload, compression and rebound damping.
Tyres:	Bridgestone 16.5″ front and rear
Brakes:	Brembo, two 320mm carbon front discs with four-piston callipers. Single stainless steel rear disc with two-piston callipers.
Dry weight:	150kg

General manager of Ducati Motor talked extensively about the new bike and the recent changes to the team:

“The main changes to the bike are based on the rule changes, so the major part of the work was done precisely to make it perform better using only six engines for the entire championship,” explained Domenicali. “It’s a very important difference, because we were used to using more-or-less one engine per race, so to switch from 18 engines to six is a very important adjustment. All of the main parts were redesigned – pistons, rods, crankshaft, the basics. It’s an engine with which our main objective was to minimise the loss of power to increase durability.”

He continued: “The second big news isn’t related to the rules, but to our attempt to make the bike more rideable. This has to do with the firing order. We have a motor that, since the switch to 800cc, utilised a screamer set-up. This has permitted us to have maximum power, which was very important and was probably fundamental with the results that we’ve had in 2007, 2008 and 2009, but at a certain point, we began to wonder whether it could be worthwhile to re-test a way that we’d already followed in the past. The last 1000cc motors that we made in 2005 and 2006 used a big-bang firing order, and this gave us important rideability. We re-tested that way, first trying it on the dyno, then with Vittoriano Guareschi in his previous role as test rider and then with Nicky and Casey.”

“We think we have a bike for 2010 with better traction, and that therefore makes it easier for us to find a good set-up. Another part of the work was dedicated to the chassis. In the pursuit of ease of use, we’ve worked to eliminate the bike’s squatting, which is why the entire rear portion of the bike was redesigned. This bike has a rear structure that carries the rider – which we call the seat support – and that also supports the swingarm. That part was redesigned to have six mounting points instead of four; this makes the bike more rigid in a way and it guarantees better rideability and improved rigidity. With respect to the bike we introduced last year, this bike is also aesthetically different because of the redesigned fairing but we already saw that at Estoril.”

On the recent changes to the Marlboro Ducati Team, Domenicali said: “2009 was a year – even from a sporting perspective – that was difficult and complicated. Nicky found things harder than he or we expected but he gave us a great lesson because he never lost his good attitude, he always had a spirit of great optimism and positivity. We were able to put at his disposal a bike that permitted him to obtain results that were in line with his talent. He gave us a podium at Indianapolis and he kept improving the whole season.”

“Casey was very fast from the start, as he always is, and had great potential. Of course what happened at mid-season affected the season, but I believe that everyone – from Casey to us – has described what happened and clarified it so it seems useless for me to continue to give details. The important thing, in my opinion, is that today we have Casey with us, probably in the best health we’ve ever seen him. We have reason for optimism for both riders.”

“There have also been some changes to the management, with Alessandro Cicognoni and Vitto Guareschi coming in, having shown themselves in the team to have competence and perhaps even bring things that were missing. I believe that this important change leaves the company in a solid situation, also because it’s in some way personalised by an incredible talent as Filippo Preziosi, who is the true engine of all our racing activities, and he remains safe, solid, and dedicated. I believe it’s a change in the continuity, if we can define it that way.”

He continued “Faith is the key word that Ducati are using in looking ahead to 2010, in a variety of aspects. We have a team that certainly makes us think we can approach the Championship with great hope. Nicky and Casey are two riders who don’t need any type of introduction. We have faith in the company, because it has a solid, stable base in the Bonomi family, and it’s a company that has managed 2009 well: the motorcycle market had a big decline in 2009 – the market declined by over 30 percent, a very heavy, difficult amount. But our company managed very well and we dropped ‘only’ 18 percent. In fact, in 2009, we had the largest share that the company has ever enjoyed historically. So also from the economic point of view, the company knew how to control very carefully its costs and manage 2009 well. For example, we didn’t cut or eliminate any development of future models, something that’s fundamental for the future health of the company.”

“We have faith in the Championship, because I see that Carmelo Ezpeleta (CEO, Dorna Sports) – here with us – has come through a truly difficult moment, with great character. He’s always been present in person, and he’s somebody with whom you can have a relationship and a dialogue, so it’s very important for our company to be present in a Championship run in this manner and Carmelo is thanked personally for this.”

“We have faith in our sponsors, because 2009, as I said, has been very difficult and yet we’ve managed to continue good relationships with them. We have a very important main sponsor in Marlboro – obviously our host at this event – which has confirmed our faith. We have other important partners like Telecom, Generali, Enel, Riello ups, that have been with us and grown with us over a long period of time. We also have faith in the media, who are well represented in this sport.”