We have already informed you of the problems encountered by Ducati regarding the reliability of its new 2017 engine, of which we only know that it retains its V4 architecture but that it is a new concept, in the words of the Italian engineers themselves.
During the first off-season tests at Sepang, Ducati had indeed broken a good handful of engines (5 or 6?), and, to a lesser extent, the problems continued in Australia and Qatar during the IRTA tests.
Today, this is information stated by Randy de Puniet on the Eurosport antenna: the official Ducati of Andrea Dovizioso and Jorge Lorenzo would run with 2016 engines while only Danilo Petrucci would use a GP17 with a 2017 engine.
According to the regulations in force, it is not possible to change engine characteristics during the season and this would therefore mean that the official Ducatis were thus equipped in Qatar and will continue to do so throughout the year.
Yamaha, Honda and Aprilia having made significant progress in this area, this could explain why the official machines of Borgo Panigale benefit from a slightly less advantage in top speed than that of last year, even if they continue to dominate the competition on this point.
To be continued…
