Indeed, the Borgo Panigale firm returns to Italy with both the very good performances of Danilo Petrucci, Hector Barbera and Casey Stoner, but also with the apparent modest results of the GP 16 whose official name is now D16 GP.
Casey Stoner, Saturday, in 2.02.01 after 54 laps on a single set of tires: “It was a really good experience today with the Ducati team. I wasn't sure what to expect but everyone was fantastic, welcoming me and working with me to try and get the best out of myself and the bike. I need a little time to become fast again and find the feeling again, because I haven't been on a MotoGP for a year, and on a motorcycle for six months. It was a very productive first day, we managed to get comfortable with the bike and the tires much quicker than I thought. We have a lot to test and I have to get used to the bike a little more but overall I'm very happy. The Desmosedici GP has a lot of potential, and I hope we can bring that little bit extra to help both Andreas try to achieve something big this year. Honestly, I'm quite happy and surprised with my time, with the hope of being a little faster next time after letting things settle. Working again with Gabriele (Conti) was fantastic, as with Marco (Palmerini) and Gigi (Dall'Igna): everyone was really professional. So far, so good! »
The Australian driver skipped Sunday and Monday, to let the track clean up and load up with rubber, before taking part in the official tests on Tuesday and Wednesday alone.
Casey Stoner, Tuesday, 2.01.103 (9th), 45 rpm: “It was another good day today. Being on track with everyone, and in good conditions, gave us better indications of how we felt, after comparison. We had a lot of different things to test, but unfortunately after Baz's accident we had to change tires and try everything again. We've done most of what we needed to do and made very positive progress on the electronics, engine braking, clutch and every area of the bike, while determining a few areas we can improve on, and we gathered a lot of data to move forward from there. »
Casey Stoner, Wednesday, 2.01.070 (9th), 30 laps: “All in all, it was a very good day for us and I'm surprised myself that I was able to do three days of testing. Physically I feel great right now, but I'm sure it will be different tomorrow! It was definitely a positive test, not only because we worked well with the bike, but also because I was able to immediately become fast again. Today wasn't too bad, although we didn't manage to do many laps. Two rides this morning to compare two different geometry settings, then the rain came so we couldn't finish testing. After the rain, we finally managed to get some time on a dry track, but we struggled a bit with the rear grip and spent too much time trying to find a new balance to progress. But, like I said, I'm really happy with how things went, and working with Gigi (Dall'Igna) and the team has been really fantastic! »
Pointing 9th in the official combined ranking, Ducati's luxury test rider actually appears 5th in the final hierarchy, if we only compare the times achieved with the hard rear tires. A happy man has no story, and obviously Casey Stoner is, and so he doesn't even need to point out this fact...
Is the Australian pilot a superman? Obviously not. But, very motivated to show Honda and Marc Marquez that he is still in the game (we remember the latter's less than complimentary statements), the Australian driver was able to benefit from several factors in his favor, without even talking about his ego pushing him to get the best possible time.
First of all, he made his comeback on a GP15, a motorcycle (and software?) accomplished after an entire season. Like what happened at Yamaha and Honda, the arrival of the new Michelin tire very close to the Bridgestone fully benefited the 2015 models, unlike the 2016s which were partly built to load the front axle in the hope to make the front tire tested in Valencia work better.
In summary, Casey Stoner (just like Danilo Petrucci and Hector Barbera) was able to get a time, while the official drivers worked to develop the D16.
The fact remains that even at Ducati, we have obviously not yet managed to extract the quintessence of this software, even if we are more advanced than the competition. In these conditions of electronics not yet perfectly adjusted, who better than a pilot known for driving with minimal electronic aids could do well? No need to write you the answer!
On the other hand, after this first performance at Sepang, another question remains, for the moment, unanswered: “Will Casey Stoner enter the race at least occasionally this year? » Ducati wants it, but the ball remains in the court of the Australian who enjoys it...
So let's move on from the good performances of Danilo Petrucci and Hector Barbera, too punctual and on soft tires to be really significant (although...), to get to the official drivers.
The, there is no doubt that the emphasis was on the substantive work, and that times were not their first priority, especially since the D16 GPs were disrupted both by teething problems (gearbox?) but also by a major testing program for new front tires (initially reserved for the factories present, but which could delegate this task to their satellite teams).
Monday, day 1 : In fact, Day 1 was not one for everyone and this fact will prove very important in the course of these tests. Indeed, since Saturday, the track was occupied by the test teams from Ducati with Michele Pirro and Casey Stoner, but also from Yamaha with Katsuyuki Nakasuga and from Honda with Hiroshi Aoyama. This allowed these three factories to discover the problem posed by the new Michelin front tire which, by coming considerably closer to its Japanese counterpart, has both disrupted the strategy put in place by the official teams, and benefited certain private teams. whose machines had hardly changed since last year. In short, the world was a bit upside down during the start of the school year and each team “tinkered” a bit during this first day…
Andrea Iannone – 2' 01.912 (5th), 49 laps: “Today we only did a few laps with the new bike, but for now we are satisfied. »
Andrea Dovizioso – 2' 02.650 (13th), 40 laps: “I am happy about the good feeling that I immediately managed to find with the new Desmosedici GP. I immediately found some positives: good handling, better precision in all changes of direction and when entering corners, as well as other improvements in the overall behavior of the bike. Unfortunately, I didn't have the opportunity to push it to the limit and achieve better times, due to the many attempts today and the conditions at the end of the session. As it started to rain, we were unable to use the best performing Michelin tires. The important thing was to build a good feeling with the new bike and, now, we have two more days to work and bring the Desmosedici GP to the limit. »
Andrea Iannone – 2' 01.052 (8th), 39 laps: “Today we mainly focused on tire testing, as Michelin gave us different specifications for the front. For the rest, we tried to take the first steps in the settings of the Desmosedici GP, although there was very little time left. At this point it is important to continue comparing the new Desmosedici GP with last year's bike, but tomorrow we will focus a little more on finding an ideal setting for the new bike. »
Andrea Dovizioso – 2' 01.723 (14th), 35 laps: “It was a bit of a strange day, for several reasons. We had some minor problems which slowed us down a lot and affected the whole day. Unfortunately, we were unable to carry out the planned comparison tests. This morning, after watching a few other drivers, I had a better idea of which direction to take in my approach to the track with the Michelin tires. We are always a little off the pace and, for this reason, there is always work to be done. »
Andrea Iannone, 2' 01.052 (8th), 38 laps: “In the end, this test was a bit unusual because instead of just focusing on the bike, we prioritized working with the new tires that Michelin had brought and I am happy with the progress we made in this area . It was an important test though because it helped us get to know the new bike, but also discovered some teething problems that appeared with the Desmosedici GP. Today we had a positive day although, towards the end, I couldn't do any fast laps because I was slowed down by minor problems. We will be in Australia soon for the next test and I am confident that the data we have gathered here will help us improve the bike even further. »
Andrea Dovizioso, 2' 01.675 (16th), 34 laps: “Today was more difficult than yesterday, because we had some problems which, unfortunately, we could not solve here and which slowed us down the whole day. In the morning I didn't do many laps because I had to wait for the track conditions to improve and then it started to rain again. In the afternoon, we started straight away and immediately achieved good time. We did a few tests with used tires and the bike improved but we encountered another problem towards the end of the session. We stayed in the box until the last moment, but I couldn't make any improvement when I went out on track. I only did as many laps as I would have liked, which was important for me to adapt to the new Michelins. It's a shame, but I'm sure that in Australia we will be able to carry out our program in a better way, once we resolve the problems at home. »
At Ducati, the situation is therefore clear; thanks to a better mastery of electronics from the Open and a large number of motorcycles entered, we were able to note at Sepang the valor of Petrucci, Barbera and Redding on proven machines like the GP15 or GP14.2. But we were also able to see the teething problems of the D16s of Iannone and Dovizioso who also “wasted” time testing different types of Michelin front tires.
The last notable fact is that, despite the sometimes disappointing times of the D16s, the black motorcycles particularly impressed all the observers present at Sepang that we interviewed. This, due to their very healthy behavior in curves, a sign of well-tuned chassis and electronics that are currently more up to date than the competition; with their overpowering engines, and once the minor teething problems have been resolved, it should not be long before we see them fighting at the forefront. Probably even from Phillip Island.
Cal Crutchlow even saw them win the first Grand Prix…
